George Westinghouse

George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was a prolific American <a href="/facts/Inventor/P3LdUHBY">inventor</a>, <a href="/facts/Engineer/ph4TnHnG">engineer</a>, and entrepreneurial <a href="/facts/Industrialist/yqUeQzqW">industrialist</a> based in <a href="/facts/Pittsburgh/42yPHyS0">Pittsburgh</a>, <a href="/facts/Pennsylvania/HGqC5bBm">Pennsylvania</a>. He is best known for his creation of the <a href="/facts/Railway_air_brake/xDcamejB">railway air brake</a> and for being a pioneer in the development and use of <a href="/facts/Alternating_current/qxICS3xa">alternating current</a> (AC) <a href="/facts/Electrical_power_distribution/F5NfTeWP">electrical power distribution</a>. During his career, he received 360 patents for his inventions and established 61 companies, many of which still exist today.
His invention of a train braking system using compressed air revolutionized the railroad industry around the world. He founded the <a href="/facts/Westinghouse_Air_Brake_Company/oKljM9wD">Westinghouse Air Brake Company</a> in 1869. He and his engineers also developed track-switching and signaling systems, which lead to the founding of the company <a href="/facts/Union_Switch_%2526_Signal/2UHLsEx5">Union Switch & Signal</a> in 1881. 
In the early 1880s, he developed inventions for the safe production, transmission, and use of natural gas. This sparked the creation of a whole new energy industry.
During this same period, Westinghouse recognized the potential of using <a href="/facts/Alternating_current/qxICS3xa">alternating current</a> (AC) for electric power distribution. In 1886, he founded the <a href="/facts/Westinghouse_Electric_Corporation/Nln2BzI3">Westinghouse Electric Corporation</a>. Westinghouse's electric business directly competed with <a href="/facts/Thomas_Edison/IeDbdyP4">Thomas Edison</a>'s, who was promoting <a href="/facts/Direct_current/r9MNUx84">direct current</a> (DC) electricity. Westinghouse Electric won the contract to showcase its AC system to illuminate the "White City" at the 1893 <a href="/facts/Columbian_Exposition/L2EMHI1z">Columbian Exposition</a> in Chicago. The company went on to install the world's first large-scale, AC power generation plant at Niagara Falls, New York, which opened in August 1895. 
Ironically, among many other honors, Westinghouse received the 1911 <a href="/facts/Edison_Medal/H5eunnA9">Edison Medal</a> of the <a href="/facts/American_Institute_of_Electrical_Engineers/j4DpqULH">American Institute of Electrical Engineers</a> "for meritorious achievement in connection with the development of the <a href="/facts/Alternating_current/qxICS3xa">alternating current</a> system".

George Westinghouse open-in-new

George Westinghouse