The next time you visit to Las Vegas, stop for a minute to thank (or curse) Georges Claude (1870-1960). In 1910 Mr. Claude displayed, for the first time in public, his invention of the neon sign.
Though the concept for neon signs is credited to French astronomer Jean Picard in 1675 -- and experiments where electricity was passed through tubes of gas were conducted using other gases as far back as the mid 1800's -- it was Georges Claude who first successfully sealed neon gas in a glass tube and discharged electricity into the tube to create the now common red neon signs.
The next time you visit to Las Vegas, stop for a minute to thank (or curse) Georges Claude (1870-1960). In 1910 Mr. Claude displayed, for the first time in public, his invention of the neon sign.