– November 21, 1846) was an American inventor and pioneer in development of the incandescent light bulb.
In February 1845 Starr and a business associate, Edward Augustin King (d.1863), set out for England to secure British and French patents for the invention.
In the second type, a carbon strip held between two clamps was enclosed in a vacuum in the space above a column of mercury, in an arrangement similar to a barometer.
It appears neither King nor Saunders could continue developing the lamp without Starr's knowledge.
As a consequence, none of Starr's partners were available for testimony in the lawsuits surrounding Thomas Edison's lamp patents.