|
George Westinghouse was one of America's greatest inventors and entrepreneurs. He invented the railway air brake and popularized AC power distribution systems.
Westinghouse was born on October 6, 1846 in Central Bridge, New York, a village along the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad. In 1856, his father moved the family to nearby Schenectady and started a shop that manufactured agricultural tools. As a boy, Westinghouse worked in his father's factory, helping with a variety of tasks and using his talents to design a powered pipe-cutter. In 1861, the 15-year old Westinghouse heard the call to battle and joined the Union Army. During the American Civil War, Westinghouse served as both a private in the cavalry and an assistant engineer in the U.S. Navy. After returning to Schenectady in 1865, Westinghouse enrolled at Union College to study engineering. He ended his studies abruptly, however, after receiving a patent for a rotary steam engine.
In 1868, Westinghouse moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to sell another of his inventions, a device that re-mounted derailed cars, on behalf of a steel manufacturer. After watching two trains collide, Westinghouse turned his attention to the design of a braking system that used compressed air instead of steam or chains. Although his air brake was not fail-safe, Westinghouse's creation could be operated by a locomotive engineer instead of brakemen in each railroad car, eliminating delays in communication that could result in the loss of life. In 1869, Westinghouse received a patent for his air brake and, after a dangerous demonstration along the Panhandle Railroad, received the financial backing of local railroaders. From its headquarters in the planned community of Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, the Westinghouse Air Brake Company revolutionized American railroading through safety.
The designs of other inventors helped drive the next phase of Westinghouse's career. In 1878, Thomas Edison invented a relatively long-lasting incandescent light bulb. Four years later, the "Wizard of Menlo Park" illuminated lower Manhattan with 110 volts of direct current (DC), a form of electricity with significant power losses. Sensing an opportunity, Westinghouse purchased patent rights from Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor and proponent of alternating current (AC). In 1886, Westinghouse used a water mill, AC generator, and modified AC transformer to provide electricity to Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That same year, he founded Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, installing over 30 AC lighting systems. Westinghouse's crowning achievements were twofold. In 1893, his company installed an AC network at the World's Columbia Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. A subsequent contract for AC power generation at Niagra Falls produced and distributed electricity for Buffalo, New York, a city some 25 miles away.
The inventions of George Westinghouse helped make 20th century America an industrial powerhouse. The holder of 361 patents, Westinghouse developed a telephone switching system, an automatic alignment mechanism for steam turbines, a drilling and piping system for natural gas, and a shock absorber for automobiles. Although Westinghouse remained a titan after the turn of the century, the Panic of 1907 forced him to relinquish control of the company that bore his name. Gradually, his health and spirits began to decline. On March 12, 1914, Westinghouse died in New York City. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery alongside his wife, Marguerite.
Resources:
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/westinghouse.html
http://www.georgewestinghouse.com/life.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blwes tinghouse.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Westinghouse
http://www.townofesperance.org/cbhist.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrington%2C_Massachusetts
| 
George Westinghouse
