A lamplighter, historically, was an employee of a town who lit street lights, generally by means of a wick on a long pole. At dawn, they would return to put them out using a small hook on the same pole. Early street lights were generally candles, oil, and similar consumable liquid or solid lighting sources with wicks. Another lamplighter duty was to carry a ladder and renew the candles, oil, or gas mantles. In some communities, lamplighters served in a role akin to a town watchman; in others, it may have been seen as little more than a sinecure. In the 19th century, gas lights became the dominant form of street lighting. Early gaslights required lamplighters, but eventually systems were developed which allowed the lights to operate automatically. Today a lamplighter is an extremely rare job. In Brest as a tourist attraction a lamplighter has been employed since 2009 to light up the oil lamps in the shopping street every day. [1] There is a long history of the role of a lamplighter-as-lightbringer as a symbolic figure in literature.
Lamplighters Inn Tavern and Grille is a famous hangout in Palatine Illinois and home to the largest antique urinal in the area. RAF Upper Heyford, UK had a dining facility named "The Lamplighter Inn"