George Westinghouse

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George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur who played a pivotal role in shaping modern America through his development of the railroad air brake system and his championship of alternating current (AC) electrical power. Dubbed the "greatest living engineer" during his lifetime, Westinghouse founded 61 companies, held 361 patents, and employed approximately 50,000 workers at the peak of his business career.

Westinghouse's air brake invention revolutionized railroad transportation by making high-speed rail travel safe, earning him his first fortune and establishing his reputation as an innovative engineer. His later work in electrical power proved even more transformative: by partnering with inventor Nikola Tesla and championing AC power against Thomas Edison's direct current (DC) system in the famous "War of Currents," Westinghouse laid the foundation for the modern electrical grid that powers civilization today.

The victory of Westinghouse's AC system—dramatically demonstrated by lighting the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 and harnessing Niagara Falls in 1895—ended the War of Currents and established the technical basis for electrical power distribution that remains in use worldwide. Though financial difficulties forced him to lose control of his companies in the Panic of 1907, Westinghouse's technological legacy endures in the electrical systems, railroad safety equipment, and industrial processes that bear his name.

Early Life

Family Background

George Westinghouse Jr. was born on October 6, 1846, in Central Bridge, New York, a small village in the Schoharie Valley. He was the eighth of ten children born to George Westinghouse Sr. and Emmeline Vedder Westinghouse. His father, originally a Vermont farmer, had become a successful manufacturer of agricultural machinery after relocating to New York.

The Westinghouse family moved to Schenectady, New York when George was ten years old. There, his father established G. Westinghouse & Company, a machine shop producing agricultural equipment, small steam engines, and other machinery. Young George spent much of his childhood working in his father's shops, gaining practical mechanical experience that would serve him throughout his career.

Civil War Service

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the fifteen-year-old Westinghouse was eager to enlist, but his parents refused permission. In 1862, at age sixteen, he ran away from home and enlisted in the Union Army, serving first in the New York National Guard and later in the 16th New York Cavalry. He participated in several campaigns before his father eventually secured his discharge.

In 1864, Westinghouse reenlisted, this time in the Union Navy, where he served as an Acting Third Assistant Engineer aboard various vessels. This naval service exposed him to marine steam engines and other mechanical systems, deepening his engineering knowledge. He was discharged in 1865 after the war's end.

Brief College Career

After the war, Westinghouse enrolled at Union College in Schenectady, where his family now lived. However, his formal education lasted only three months. He found academic study tedious compared to practical engineering work, and he already had his first invention in progress. On October 31, 1865—less than a month after entering college—Westinghouse received his first patent, for a rotary steam engine.

Dropping out of college, Westinghouse returned to work in his father's shop while pursuing his own inventions. His mechanical aptitude and practical experience had given him skills that no classroom could match, and he was eager to apply them to real-world problems.

The Air Brake

The Problem of Railroad Safety

In the 1860s, American railroads were expanding rapidly but were plagued by accidents. One major problem was braking: trains relied on brakemen stationed on each car who would manually apply hand brakes when the engineer whistled a signal. This system was slow, unreliable, and dangerous—brakemen frequently fell from cars while operating the brakes, and trains often could not stop quickly enough to avoid collisions.

Westinghouse became interested in this problem after witnessing a railroad accident in which two trains collided because they could not stop in time. The existing braking systems were clearly inadequate for the increasing speeds and weights of modern trains.

Development of the Air Brake

In April 1869, at age 22, Westinghouse received a patent for his revolutionary air brake system. The concept was elegant: compressed air stored in tanks on the locomotive would be used to apply brakes on every car simultaneously through a system of pipes and cylinders. The engineer could control braking from the locomotive, eliminating the dangerous and unreliable hand-brake system.

The initial design required continuous air pressure to keep the brakes released; releasing the pressure applied the brakes. A later improvement, the automatic air brake, reversed this arrangement so that any break in the air line would automatically engage the brakes—a crucial safety feature that prevented runaway cars if a train broke apart.

Westinghouse Air Brake Company

In 1869, the same year he received his air brake patent, Westinghouse founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company manufactured air brakes and related railroad equipment, quickly growing as railroads recognized the safety and efficiency benefits of the new system.

Westinghouse continued improving his air brake design, eventually receiving more than 100 patents related to braking systems. The Railroad Safety Appliance Act of 1893 made air brakes compulsory on all American trains, cementing Westinghouse's dominance of the market and establishing a safety standard that remains in use today.

Other Railroad Inventions

Westinghouse's interest in railroads extended beyond braking systems. He developed and patented numerous improvements to railroad technology, including:

Standardized railroad signals and interlocking switch systems
Electric signals for automatic block systems
Friction draft gears for absorbing impact between cars
Various improvements to railroad car design and operation

These inventions made American railroads safer, more efficient, and capable of handling heavier loads at higher speeds.

Electrical Power and the War of Currents

Entry into Electricity

By the mid-1880s, Westinghouse had established himself as a successful industrialist through his railroad equipment companies. He turned his attention to electrical power, recognizing that electricity would transform society just as railroads had transformed transportation.

The electrical industry at this time was dominated by Thomas Edison, whose direct current (DC) systems powered lighting in major cities. However, DC had a fundamental limitation: it could not be transmitted efficiently over long distances. DC power stations had to be located within about a mile of their customers, requiring numerous small stations to serve even a single city.

Championing Alternating Current

Westinghouse became convinced that alternating current (AC) offered a superior solution. AC power could be "stepped up" to high voltages for efficient long-distance transmission using transformers, then "stepped down" to safe voltages for customer use. A single large generating station could serve an entire region.

In 1885–1886, Westinghouse acquired the American rights to European transformer technology and began developing his own AC system. In 1886, he founded the Westinghouse Electric Company to compete with Edison's DC empire.

Partnership with Nikola Tesla

The key breakthrough came in 1888 when Westinghouse purchased the patents of Nikola Tesla, the brilliant Serbian-American inventor who had developed a practical AC motor and polyphase power system. Tesla's patents solved the major technical challenge that had limited AC systems: creating motors that could run on alternating current.

Westinghouse hired Tesla to work at his Pittsburgh laboratories, and the two developed practical AC motors, generators, and transmission systems based on Tesla's patents. The partnership between Westinghouse's business resources and Tesla's technical genius created the technology that would ultimately triumph in the War of Currents.

The War of Currents

Thomas Edison and his backers responded to the competitive threat of AC with a propaganda campaign emphasizing the dangers of high-voltage AC power. Edison's agents conducted public demonstrations in which animals were electrocuted using AC current to show its lethality. Edison himself promoted the use of AC for the newly developed electric chair as a way of associating his competitor's technology with death.

The campaign reached its nadir in 1890 when William Kemmler became the first person executed by electric chair—deliberately powered by a Westinghouse AC generator obtained through subterfuge. Westinghouse, appalled by this use of his technology, hired lawyers to appeal Kemmler's death sentence (unsuccessfully) and publicly condemned electrocution as "cruel and unusual punishment." After the botched execution, Westinghouse reportedly said "they would have done better using an axe."

Despite Edison's attacks, the technical and economic advantages of AC proved decisive. AC could serve larger areas from fewer generating stations, making it more economical than DC. By the early 1890s, Westinghouse's AC systems were gaining market share rapidly.

World's Columbian Exposition (1893)

The War of Currents effectively ended at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Westinghouse won the contract to light the fair, beating General Electric's higher bid. The exposition featured over 200,000 incandescent lights powered by AC generators—the largest demonstration of electrical power in history to that point.

The fair's spectacular illumination demonstrated to millions of visitors that AC power was safe, practical, and capable of grand achievements. Westinghouse's triumph at Chicago shifted public opinion decisively in favor of AC and against Edison's DC system.

Niagara Falls (1895)

The ultimate validation of Westinghouse's AC technology came with the Niagara Falls hydroelectric project. In 1893, the Cataract Construction Company awarded Westinghouse a contract to build three massive AC generators to harness the power of Niagara Falls.

Installation began in April 1895, and by November all three generators were operational. In 1896, engineers completed the transmission system, delivering power from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, New York—26 miles away. This long-distance power transmission was impossible with Edison's DC system and demonstrated conclusively that AC was the technology of the future.

End of the War

The War of Currents officially ended in 1892 when financier J.P. Morgan forced a merger of Edison General Electric with Thomson-Houston Electric Company, forming General Electric. Morgan removed Edison's name from the company and required the new GE to adopt AC technology, effectively conceding victory to Westinghouse.

The electrical power systems that light the world today—including high-voltage transmission lines, transformers, and the 60-Hz frequency standard in North America—derive directly from the AC technology that Westinghouse championed and Tesla developed.

Other Inventions and Enterprises

Natural Gas Distribution

Westinghouse applied his engineering skills to natural gas distribution in the Pittsburgh area. In 1884, he developed systems for drilling, piping, and safely controlling natural gas delivery to homes and businesses. His innovations included pressure regulators, leak-proof piping, and metering systems that made natural gas a practical fuel source.

Other Technological Contributions

Throughout his career, Westinghouse pursued inventions in diverse fields:

Steam turbines for power generation
Compressed air systems for various industrial applications
Shock absorbers for automobiles (his last major invention, around 1910)
Numerous improvements to electrical equipment and systems

His 361 patents spanned multiple industries and technological domains, reflecting his restless innovative spirit.

Business Empire

At the peak of his career, Westinghouse controlled approximately 61 companies with combined assets of $120 million and employing about 50,000 workers. His major companies included:

Westinghouse Air Brake Company: Railroad braking equipment
Westinghouse Electric Company (later Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company): Electrical equipment and power systems
Union Switch & Signal Company: Railroad signaling equipment
Various natural gas, steam engine, and industrial equipment companies

This business empire made Westinghouse one of the most powerful industrialists of the Gilded Age.

Personal Life

Marriage and Family

In 1867, George Westinghouse met Marguerite Erskine Walker during a train journey. Marguerite, the daughter of Captain Daniel Lynch Walker, was from Roxbury, New York. According to Westinghouse's biographers, he was instantly attracted to her appearance, and the chance meeting blossomed into romance.

After a brief courtship—and after Marguerite's family investigated the young inventor's references—the couple married in 1867. Their marriage lasted 47 years until George's death in 1914. They had one son, George Westinghouse III, born on May 20, 1883.

Marguerite Westinghouse was reportedly a devoted partner who supported her husband's work while maintaining an active social life. George sent daily telegrams to her whenever business took him away from home.

Residences

The Westinghouses maintained several homes reflecting their wealth and social position:

Solitude: Their primary residence in Pittsburgh, built up from an existing house on land George purchased in 1871. The estate served as both home and a location for entertaining business associates and dignitaries.

Blaine House: A mansion in Washington, D.C., which the Westinghouses leased beginning in 1898 and purchased in 1901. Marguerite was known for hosting lavish entertainments there.

Erskine Park: The family's summer home in Massachusetts, named in honor of Marguerite's family. She particularly enjoyed landscaping and maintaining horses and livestock at this retreat from industrial Pittsburgh.

Character and Work Style

Westinghouse was known for his fairness in dealing with employees and competitors alike. Unlike many industrialists of his era, he treated workers with respect and paid competitive wages. He was among the first major employers to adopt the Saturday half-holiday, giving workers more leisure time.

His approach to business was characterized by technical excellence rather than financial manipulation. He preferred to compete through superior products rather than stock market maneuvering—a stance that would ultimately leave him vulnerable to more financially sophisticated rivals.

Decline and Death

Panic of 1907

The Panic of 1907, a severe financial crisis that struck the American economy, proved devastating for Westinghouse. His companies were heavily leveraged, and when credit markets froze, he could not refinance his debts.

Bankers led by J.P. Morgan—the same financier who had ended Edison's control of his electrical company—forced Westinghouse to accept restructuring that removed him from leadership of the companies he had founded. By 1911, Westinghouse had severed all ties with his former enterprises.

The loss was deeply painful for Westinghouse, who had built his companies through decades of technological innovation and hard work only to lose them through financial difficulties beyond his control. The experience embittered him toward the banking establishment.

Final Years

Despite losing his companies, Westinghouse continued inventing until his health failed. His final major project was developing compressed air springs for automobile shock absorbers around 1910—demonstrating that his inventive spirit remained strong even in adversity.

By 1913, Westinghouse showed signs of heart disease and was ordered by doctors to rest. His condition deteriorated steadily, eventually confining him to a wheelchair.

Death

George Westinghouse died on March 12, 1914, in New York City at age 67. His wife Marguerite, devastated by the loss, survived him by only three months.

As a Civil War veteran, Westinghouse was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Marguerite was laid to rest beside him. His last patent was granted posthumously in 1918, four years after his death.

Legacy

Technological Impact

Westinghouse's contributions to technology remain foundational to modern life:

The air brake system he invented remains the basis for railroad braking worldwide, having prevented countless accidents and deaths over more than 150 years
His AC electrical power system became the global standard for power generation and distribution
His partnership with Tesla brought polyphase AC motors into commercial use, enabling everything from industrial machinery to household appliances
His work on railroad signaling established safety systems still used in modified form today

Business Legacy

Several companies tracing their origins to Westinghouse remain significant enterprises:

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec): A major manufacturer of railroad equipment
Westinghouse Electric Company: Though it has passed through various corporate reorganizations, the Westinghouse name continues in the nuclear power industry
Various successor companies in electrical equipment, broadcasting, and other fields

Comparison with Edison

History has sometimes treated Westinghouse less generously than Edison, despite Westinghouse's equally important contributions. Edison's genius for self-promotion created a public image of the lone inventor working in his laboratory, while Westinghouse's more systematic, corporate approach to innovation seemed less romantic.

Yet in the central technological contest of their era—the War of Currents—Westinghouse was unquestionably correct and Edison stubbornly wrong. The AC system that powers the modern world vindicated Westinghouse's technical judgment and Tesla's brilliant innovations. Edison's DC system, despite his fame and financial resources, proved to be a technological dead end.

Recognition

Westinghouse received numerous honors during his lifetime:

Légion d'honneur from France
Edison Medal from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (ironically named for his rival)
John Fritz Medal for engineering achievement
John Scott Medal
Honorary degrees from multiple universities

Notable Quotes

"If someday they say of me that in my work I have contributed something to the welfare and happiness of my fellow men, I shall be satisfied."
"I have always had great respect for Mr. Edison, but that respect does not extend to his methods in attempting to injure the business of Westinghouse Electric Company."

References

Jonnes, Jill. Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World. New York: Random House, 2003.
Leupp, Francis E. George Westinghouse: His Life and Achievements. Boston: Little, Brown, 1918.
Prout, Henry G. A Life of George Westinghouse. New York: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1921.
Skrabec, Quentin R., Jr. George Westinghouse: Gentle Genius. New York: Algora Publishing, 2007.
Seifer, Marc J. Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. New York: Citadel Press, 1996.

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