George Westinghouse: Prolific inventor who changed the world

This inventor, innovator, entrepreneur and captain of industry was a pioneer in diverse fields, had hundreds of patents to his name and was among the leading inventors of his time such as Thomas Edison. Westinghouse & Edison were locked in a competitive race most of their lives.

Born on October 6, 1846 in Central Bridge, New York, George Westinghouse Jr. was the eighth child of Emeline Vedder and George Westinghouse Sr.

While growing up, the teenager learnt skills watching his father, who was a machine shop owner. He was 15 when the Civil War broke out. He served in the Union Army and later joined the Navy in which he became an assistant engineer. Although he enrolled at college, he dropped out months later in 1865. By then he showed an innate talent for innovation when he received his first patent aged 19 for a rotary steam engine.

Inventions galore
The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was formed to commercialise his invention. The 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act made his air-brake system compulsory on all American trains. Westinghouse turned his attention to improving rail signalling devices.

In 1883, he devised a safe system of piping natural gas, using his theories of air brakes. In the subsequent two years, he was granted 38 patents for piping equipment.

Confident that developing alternating current (AC) technology held great potential, he founded the Westinghouse Electric Company in 1886. It was a bold move, considering that heavy investors in the power industry, especially the genius Thomas Edison, were promoting the direct current system aggressively. Edison and his supporters strongly campaigned against the AC system. The fierce campaign against Westinghouse turned into a legal battle termed The Seven Years War.

Westinghouse proved the advantages of AC over DC. To prove his point, he included Nikola Tesla’s AC technology patents in 1888.

Westinghouse and Tesla collaborated to develop a safety case for the AC system and demonstrated it by lighting up the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago with his AC generator. Westinghouse’s company prevailed in its legal battle against Edison and was granted the permit to build a large-scale generator system to convert hydropower from the Niagara Falls into electricity and use it commercially.

Personal life
In 1867, Westinghouse met Marguerite Erskine Walker and the duo were married shortly after and had a son who was named George Westinghouse III. His businesses prospered till 1907 when financial panic forced the inventor to cut all ties to it by 1911. His health worsened and he passed away on March 12, 1914.

Recognition
In 1911, Westinghouse was honoured with the AIEE’s Edison Medal for achievements in AC power systems. The Westinghouse Company operated until the 1980s. By the 1990s, many of its divisions except the nuclear division, were sold but the latter is still active. The firm became the media house CBS Corporation.

Interesting Facts
Various Westinghouse companies were worth about $120 million and employed approximately 50,000 workers at the turn of the century. By 1904, Westinghouse owned nine manufacturing firms in the U.S., one in Canada, and five in Europe. In 1989, the inventor and entrepreneur was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame as a recognition of his great contributions.

In 1918, the City of Pittsburgh acquired Westinghouse’s former home, Solitude, to build the Westinghouse Park in his honour. In 1930, his company employees financed the Westinghouse Memorial in Pittsburgh. The George Westinghouse Bridge is situated near his Turtle Creek power plant. In 1986, the Westinghouse Birthplace & Boyhood Home in New York was enlisted in the National of Register of Historic Places.

At a time when a 6-day workweek was the norm, he made the first Saturday a half holiday at his Pittsburgh factory in 1881.He strove to treat workers well, give them a good workplace & best tools to get the best out of them.