The flashlight, or torch as it is known in the United Kingdom, is a portable battery-powered lamp source, consisting of a small light bulb and parabolic reflector what is usually a cylindrical body, often powered by batteries and typically containing a power on/off switch. Although a simplistic device, the flashlight was not invented until 1902, as its invention hinged on earlier inventions: the electric battery and the electric light bulb. Conrad Hubert is credited as the father of the modern flashlight. He was issued a U.S. patent (patent number 737,107) on August 26, 1903, for an electric flashlight with an on/off switch and the familiar cylindrical casing that housed a lamp, reflector and batteries.
Conrad Hubert moved to the United States from Russia, realized there was money to be made in an untapped market of novelty electric items, and set to work making portable fans, pocket lights, lighted stick pins and an illuminated flowerpot. Hubert later hired the inventor of a portable electric lamp by the name of David Misell, and together they continued inventing improvements to the portable lamp and patented several ideas while on their way to creating the flashlight.
EverReady and Energizer revolutionized the business, making flashlights an everyday household item with their brochure "101 Uses for an EverReady" which stated the flashlight was the light that does not flicker or extinguish in the wind, and is controlled instantly by finger pressure. It's the light everyone needs.