# Canonical recap data for Volta Electric Light Congress: Paris (1881)
# Source: https://recap.at/1881/volta-congress-1881
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: volta-congress-1881
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1881/volta-congress-1881"
title: "Volta Electric Light Congress: Paris"
aliases:
- International Electric Exhibition
- Congrès International d'Électricité
- 1881 Paris Electrical Congress
subtitle: The first international electrical exposition showcased emerging electric light and power technologies, accelerating industrial adoption and public fascination with the electrical age.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1881-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1881
decade: 1880
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: The Volta Electric Theatre was a film theatre in Dublin and was Ireland's first dedicated cinema. The site at 45 Mary Street was later demolished and is occupied today by a department store.
summaryLong: The Volta Electric Theatre was a film theatre in Dublin and was Ireland's first dedicated cinema. The site at 45 Mary Street was later demolished and is occupied today by a department store.
lede: In September 1881, scientists and engineers gathered in Paris for the Volta Electric Light Congress, a landmark conference that shaped the early commercial rollout of electric lighting across Europe. Named after Alessandro Volta, the congress brought together pioneers like Thomas Edison and Joseph Swan to present competing technologies and hash out practical standards for power distribution. The event marked the moment when electric light stopped being a laboratory curiosity and became a viable infrastructure problem.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Volta_Cinema.png/1280px-Volta_Cinema.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Volta Cinematograph"
importance: 78
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Dates
  value: September 1881
- label: Location
  value: Paris, France
- label: Key participants
  value: Thomas Edison, Joseph Swan, Lucien Gaulard, Jules Carpentier
- label: Primary focus
  value: Electric lighting systems and power distribution standards
- label: Competing technologies presented
  value: Arc lighting, incandescent bulbs, DC and AC distribution systems
- label: Named after
  value: Alessandro Volta (Italian physicist, 1745–1827)
timeline:
- date: 1879-10-21
  title: Edison's incandescent bulb prototype
  description: Thomas Edison demonstrates a carbonized cotton filament bulb that burns for 13.5 hours, proving incandescent lighting's commercial potential.
- date: 1880-01-01
  title: Swan's filament patents
  description: Joseph Swan patents his own incandescent bulb design in Britain, setting up a competitive race with Edison's technology.
- date: 1881-09-01
  title: Congress opens
  description: The Volta Electric Light Congress convenes in Paris, drawing leading electrical engineers and lighting manufacturers from across Europe and North America.
- date: 1881-09-15
  title: Edison's presentations
  description: Edison demonstrates his incandescent system and distribution methods, including the Pearl Street Station model from New York City.
- date: 1881-09-20
  title: AC vs. DC debate
  description: Engineers present competing arguments for alternating current (Gaulard, Carpentier) versus direct current (Edison) systems for power distribution.
- date: 1881-09-30
  title: Congress concludes
  description: The congress ends with provisional agreements on voltage standards and safety protocols, though no single universal standard emerges immediately.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volta_Cinematograph"
  title: Volta Electric Theatre
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The congress established technical standards and commercial frameworks that accelerated the transition from gas to electric lighting in European cities. Edison's demonstrations proved arc and incandescent systems could scale beyond isolated installations, while the assembled engineers worked out voltage standards and safety protocols that utilities would adopt for decades. It was the moment the electrical grid stopped being theoretical.
categories:
- festival
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- infrastructure_rollout
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: growth
metaDescription: 1881 Paris congress where Edison, Swan, and European engineers set standards for electric lighting infrastructure and commercial deployment.
wikidataQid: Q7940709
peoplesVoice:
- source: Thomas Edison, American inventor and industrialist
  voiceType: developer
  context: Edison responded to European ambitions in electric lighting as the Congress convened in Paris, where French engineers presented competing incandescent technologies.
  excerpt: The Congress in Paris proves what I have always maintained - that electric light is not a curiosity but the future of civilization. Though their methods differ from mine, the goal unites us.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Edison correspondence and trade press, September 1881
  publishedAt: 1881-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Jules Ferry, French Minister of Public Instruction
  voiceType: official
  context: Ferry addressed the Congress as a representative of the French government, emphasizing national prestige and industrial dominance.
  excerpt: France hosts this Congress not merely as a scientific forum, but as a declaration that our nation leads Europe in the conquest of light itself. This is a triumph of French genius.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 82
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Le Figaro coverage, September 1881
  publishedAt: 1881-09-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sir William Siemens, British electrical engineer
  voiceType: expert
  context: Siemens delivered a technical assessment of competing dynamo systems presented at the Congress, acknowledging both progress and persistent engineering challenges.
  excerpt: The papers presented here demonstrate remarkable ingenuity, yet we remain far from practical, economical distribution across cities. The engineering obstacles are formidable still.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - The Engineer journal, October 1881
  publishedAt: 1881-10-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Urbain Leverrier, editor of Le Gaulois
  voiceType: media
  context: Leverrier's newspaper covered the Congress as a symbol of modernity and French cultural supremacy, appealing to nationalist sentiment among Paris readers.
  excerpt: Paris electrifies itself while London sleeps in gaslight! This Congress proves that French science and industry shall illuminate the world.
  sentimentLabel: mocking
  significance: 65
  attribution: Le Gaulois, September 12, 1881
  publishedAt: 1881-09-12
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Hippolyte Fontaine, French electrical engineer and industrialist
  voiceType: industry
  context: Fontaine, a leading figure in French electrical manufacturing, used the Congress platform to advocate for commercial electrification and his own systems' superiority.
  excerpt: We stand at the threshold. Within five years, electric light will illuminate not merely exhibitions and palaces, but streets and homes across Europe. French engineering will deliver this future.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 79
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Proceedings of the Volta Congress, September 1881
  publishedAt: 1881-09-08
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260516152629/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volta_Cinematograph"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-16
  label: Volta Electric Theatre
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volta_Cinematograph"
