Yesterdate: This day from Kolkata’s past, July 24, 1879

The first demonstration of electric light in Kolkata was conducted on this day. It was done by P.W. Fleury & Co. Another demonstration by a company of Bengali entrepreneurs, Dey Sil & Co., followed soon. On June 30, 1881, 36 electric lights lit up the premises of Mackinnon & Mackenzie Company’s Garden Reach Cotton Mills, says the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) website. Kolkata streets, which were lit by gas lights so far, would begin to change. The British government passed the Calcutta Electric Lighting Act in 1895. On January 7, 1897, Kilburn & Co obtained the electric lighting licence in Kolkata, as agents of The Indian Electric Co Ltd., which was registered in London on 15 January 1897. A month later, this company would change its name to The Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited. Over a century later, this is a household name.