A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical device used to create artificial light by use of an electric lamp. All light fixtures have a fixture body and a light socket to hold the lamp and allow for its replacement. Fixtures may also have a switch to control the light. Fixtures require an electrical connection to a power source; permanent lighting may be directly wired, and moveable lamps have a plug. Light fixtures may also have other features, such as reflectors for directing the light, an aperture (with or without a lens), an outer shell or housing for lamp alignment and protection, and an electrical ballast or power supply. A wide variety of special light fixtures are created for use in the automotive lighting industry, aerospace, marine and medicine.
Portable light fixtures are often called “lamps”, as in table lamp or desk lamp. In technical terminology, the lamp is the light source, what is typically called the light bulb.
Fixture manufacturing began soon after production of the incandescent light bulb. When practical uses of fluorescent lighting were realized after 1924, the three leading companies to produce various fixtures were Lightolier, Artcraft Fluorescent Lighting Corporation, and Globe Lighting in the United States.
Lightolier: is a company that manufactures and sells a wide array of lighting fixtures. It was founded in 1904 by Bernhard Blitzer under the name of New York Gas and Appliance Co. When electric lighting started to be more widely accepted, the name was changed to Lightolier, a contraction of the words light and chandelier. In 2007, Philips Royal Electronics announced that it would acquire the Genlyte Group which would make Lightolier a part of Philips.
In its early years, the company specialized in fancy decorative chandeliers then made a shift to high-end design and architectural in the 1920s. In the 1960s, Lightolier introduced the first track lighting system, designed by the late Anthony C. Donato (a vertically integrated track, unlike the horizontal tracks of today). Also notable is the success of the Lytegem series, designed by Michael Lax, that has a place in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Lightolier is also known for its advanced reflector designs, and was the first lighting company to introduce digital lighting systems in the early 1990s. The company is also Sustaining Member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, a founding member of the American Lighting Association, an ally of the EPA Green Lights program, and a Partner of the Lighting Research Center.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_fixture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightolier