Limelight originally referred to lights which used oxyhydrogen flames to ignite solid pieces of lime. Since lime (calcium oxide) burns at a very high temperature, this process results in an intensely bright, white light. Before the perfection of electric lights, limelight was a common form of theatrical illumination. The lights meant to illuminate the performers became known as "limes" in industry jargon. Performers who acted in the limelight were closer to the audience, usually in major roles. An association grew between limelight and fame, particularly among actors and those with an inside knowledge of the theater.
English chemist Goldsworthy Gurney is credited with discovering the limelight effect in the 1820s. In 1837, London's Covent Garden Theatre became the first venue to use limelight on stage, augmenting the gaslights and torches that previously had been used. By the mid-19th Century, limelight was common in theaters around the world. By the late 19th Century, electric lighting, pioneered by Thomas Edison and other inventors, made limelight largely obsolete.
Limelight originally referred to the light itself, both the fixture and its illumination. Soon, it also came to mean the space on a stage where the limelight was cast. Because this was the prime space at the center of a stage where aspiring actors wanted to be, limelight came to mean fame through this metonymic substitution. The term spread from theatrical circles to widespread use among the general public through trade publications and popular journalism.
In 1952, Charlie Chaplin released "Limelight," a film in which he played an aging performer who seeks one last chance at fame and fortune on the stage. The term was also the title of films made in 1936 and 2003, always referring in some way to the ideal of fame. It is a common element in the names of corporations and theatrical enterprises.
The introduction of electric stage lighting led to the development of the spotlight, which itself became a term with the secondary meaning of fame or attention. Now, more than 100 years after the useful decline of limelight in the theater, only its secondary meaning exists and is understood by many who are unaware of its origins. The term today is commonly used in reference not only to performers but also to anyone whose image or actions become a center of public attention.