I just went on the national lighter museum website, and they say that lighters have existed in various forms since the 16th century. Obviously, they won't look like Bic lighters or Zippos....

Quote Originally Posted by t0ke
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In 1680, an Irishman named Robert Boyle discovered that if you rubbed phosphorus and sulphur together, they would instantly burst into flames. He has discovered the principle that was the precurser of the modern match
That doesn't mean the match existed per se. Gunpowder was around since the 900s in China, but the first cannon apeared hundreds of years later, not to mention rifles and guns...