What is today ComEd began as the Western Edison Light Company, one of several companies owned by inventor and researcher Thomas Edison. As you may know, Edison experimented with electric currents and created an early light bulb that wasn't ready for mass use. It didn't last long enough. One of Edison's employees, African-American draftsman and engineer Lewis Latimer, perfected the longer-lasting carbon filament, which would revolutionize the world.

In July 1892, another Edison employee moved to Chicago to run Edison's local company, Chicago Edison. Sam Insull had a sharp business mind and eagerly increased his knowledge of electricity. Through improved marketing and increased demand for electric lighting, Commonwealth Edison was born in September 1907.