On September 23, 1873, in St. Petersburg, the world's first electric lanterns with carbon filament bulbs were lit, replacing kerosene lamps. Electrical engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin tested his invention on Odessa Street in the northern capital. A large crowd of onlookers gathered for the experiment. One of them recalled that, suddenly, we found ourselves on a brightly lit street, having come from the darkness. In two lanterns, the kerosene lamps had been replaced with incandescent bulbs that emitted a bright white light. The gathered crowd watched with excitement and amazement at this "fire from the sky," a light without fire, as it was immediately called by the people of St. Petersburg.