Okay so there are many different individuals who had something to do with the spark plug invention.
Edmond Berger experimented with spark plugs in the mid 1800’s. Then there was Oliver Lodge who invented the electric spark ignition which he aptly named “The Lodge Igniter “for the combustion engine. His two sons founded the lodge Plug Company.
Some sources credit the spark plug to Belgian born Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir. He made a prototype single cylinder engine back in 1859. This cylinder used an electric spark to ignite gaslight fuel and air.
Albert Champion from France also manufactured spark plugs and used the money to support himself after immigrating to the States in 1889. He then moved to Flint Michigan and started his own company in 1904. The company was called “Champion Ignition Company” where he continued to sell spark plugs. After losing his company he started the AC Spark Plug Company in 1908. Champion was also responsible for helping form part of General motors.
So who actually invented the spark plug? Well it is up for debate. According to the documentation which includes patents and blue prints, Edmond Berger an African American, might have come up with the idea in the mid 1800’s and actually may have invented an experimental spark plug in February 2nd 1839. The controversy comes into play in respects to when the internal combustion engine was invented. In the mid 1800’s the internal combustion engine was in its experimental phase. So if Berger had formed a spark plug it too would have been in a sort of beta form. That’s if the dates are correct. If the date they have for his invention was off by 10 years then it’s possible that the spark plug was fashioned and tested with internal combustion engines.
So who is this Edmond Berger and how did he come up with this idea? Well, little is known about this inventor. We know that Berger emigrated from Toga and unfortunately never obtained a patent.
