George Westinghouse Meets the Wizard

It was highly ironic that, in 1913, George Westinghouse received the Thomas Alva Edison medal for pioneering the use of alternating current because no one had done more than Edison to wreck those efforts or vilify Westinghouse. Edison and Westinghouse were competitors in business, and Westinghouse w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:D&B reports 1990-09, Vol.38 (5), p.16
Main Author: Steck, Robert N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Competitive
Electricity
Entrepreneurs
Inventions
Personal profiles
Rivalries
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:It was highly ironic that, in 1913, George Westinghouse received the Thomas Alva Edison medal for pioneering the use of alternating current because no one had done more than Edison to wreck those efforts or vilify Westinghouse. Edison and Westinghouse were competitors in business, and Westinghouse was Edison's antithesis. Westinghouse had 361 patents, the first of which was for the rotary steam engine. His greatest early invention was the air brake. At age 22, Westinghouse opened the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. He went on to make railroad-switching and signaling equipment that used electricity and compressed air. Other inventions included the automatic telephone exchange and direct-current electrical equipment. In 1893, Westinghouse won the contract to light the Chicago Exposition, and the world has used alternating current ever since.
ISSN:0746-6110