i hope there were people back then who were also annoyed by calling it that, it's like saying "i just mailboxed a letter to my family"
mf that's not the actual action, that's just an aspect of how the action functions! grrrrr

Yes and no!

The flash-light predates the flash_bulb_. It’s the same idea but flash-light photography used chemicals and wasn’t reusable in the same way bulbs eventually were.

photographers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century went to great lengths to capture images by “flash-light” (not to be confused with our modern battery-operated flashlights). The “flash” and the “light” were generated by the quick flare of burning magnesium powder, often in combination with other chemicals.

From this article about it, which also has a bunch of examples of early flash photography.