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
Coal Miner (statue) was cast later, in 1966, and dedicated in 1967. Both statues were cast at the Spampinato Art Workshop foundry in Chicago. "The Coal Miner", which measures , is installed in the northwest corner of the Indiana Statehouse lawn and faces west. The figure wears overalls, boots, a belt, a long-sleeve shirt, and a miner's hat. He has a contrapposto stance with his proper left foot forward. He carries a miner's fire safety lamp, or "bug light", in his proper left hand, which is at his side. His proper right hand is raised, gripping the base of a miner's pick axe