Davy lamp Davy lamp The Davy lamp is a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy. It consists of a wick lamp with the flame enclosed inside a mesh screen. It was created for use in coal mines, to reduce the danger of explosions due to the presence of methane and other flammable gases, called "firedamp" or "minedamp." Davy's invention was preceded by that of William Reid Clanny, an Irish doctor at Bishopwearmouth, who had read a paper to the Royal Society in May 1813. The more cumbersome Clanny safety lamp was successfully tested at
Eliphalet S. Miner Eliphalet S. Miner Eliphalet S. Miner was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate. Miner was born on March 20, 1818 in Madison, New York. He settled in what is now Grand Rapids, Wisconsin in 1841 before moving to Necedah, Wisconsin in 1850. There, he went into the lumber business with John T. Kingston. Miner died on February 9, 1890. Miner was a member of the Assembly from 1865 to 1866. In the Senate, he represented the 9th District in 1871 and the 29th District in 1872. Other positions he held include Postmaster of Grand