 Laslo was an Austrian-Hungarian adventurer, inventor and businessman, who had emigrated to the U. S. in the 1840s.As a businessman (he was founder and director of the Mineral Lighting Company in New York City) and inventor (he held several patents), Laslo had a great interest in lighting and in providing improved lighting systems for cities.In the early-to-mid 1860s he obtained contracts to provide an improved public lighting system for the city of St. Petersburg, Russia.