George Westinghouse Jnr.
1846 - 1914.
George Westinghouse Jnr was born in Central Bridge, New York, on October 6, 1846.
In the mid 1850s, his father established a factory in Schenectady, New York, where young George learned about mechanics, manufacturing, management and business. He had a creative mind and his father's shop was just the place to try out new ideas, once when he was asked to cut some pipe, George designed a power device that cut the pipes automatically in a fraction of the time thought necessary. He learned to work with steam engines and other machines at this time.
In 1861, the 15 year old George ran away with two of his brothers to fight for the Union cause in the American Civil War. He briefly served with the Twelfth Regiment, New York National Guard, before his parents forced him to return home because of his age. In 1863 he was able to join the Sixteenth Regiment, New York Cavalry. The following year he transferred to the Union Navy, where he became Acting Third Assistant Engineer aboard the USS Muscoota.
George returned to Schenectady after the end of the war in 1865, where he studied engineering at Union College for only 3 months before dropping out because the school's classical curriculum held little fascination for him. This was soon after obtaining his first patent on October 31, 1865 for a rotary steam engine, the first of over 300 inventions before he died.
At the time, the safety record of the railroads was appalling and he became interested in designing improvements that would make trains safer and more efficient to operate. Later that year he invented an instrument which replaced derailed freight cars on the train tracks and a cast-steel frog (a switch that allows a train's wheels to transfer across intersecting rails at a junction). After a few years' work, he invented and patented the first successful compressed-air brake system in 1869, much more effective and efficient than manual brakes. The system was manufactured by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the first of sixty companies founded by Westinghouse, and soon became the industry standard braking standard, in fact such was the safety record of his braking system, the 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act made air brakes compulsory on all American trains. George also created a system of signals and interlocking switches that used a combination of compressed air and electricity in 1882. He founded another company, Union Switch & Signal, which marketed his own ideas in combination with inventions licensed from others.
He invented a special reduction valve that allowed highly pressurized natural gas to be emitted at the point of use in bursts at low pressure. Certain that a similar system could be used to deliver electricity, George worked with an English engineer to develop a transformer that could "step down" alternating current (AC) electricity from the high voltage needed to carry it long distances to a lower voltage suited to the point of use. At that time, Thomas Edison was convinced that his direct current (DC) system, being used in New York City, could not be outdone, despite the fact that the effective range of delivery for DC electricity was at most three miles. George founded Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh in 1886 and went head to head against Edison's General Electric. He purchased Nikola Tesla's patents and employed Tesla to work with him to create the motors and equipment necessary to deliver alternating current (AC) to a nearly unlimited number of users over great distances. Westinghouse and Edison waged an ongoing court battle over electricity known as "war of currents". In 1893 Westinghouse proved AC's safety when his company lit the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After this, and a number of other impressive public demonstrations, 95% of public electricity was switched to the AC system and even Edison's General Electric was forced to license Westinghouse's patents! Shortly afterwards Westinghouse secured the rights to develop Niagara Falls, creating the first large system to supply electricity for multiple uses (railway, lighting, power) from one circuit.
On August 8, 1867 George married Marguerite Erskine Walker. They had only one son, who they named George Westinghouse III.
George Westinghouse remained a captain of American industry until 1907, when a financial panic led to his resignation from control of the Westinghouse company. By 1911 he was no longer active in business and his health was in decline. He showed signs of a heart ailment by 1913 and was ordered to rest by doctors. After deteriorating health and illness confined him to a wheelchair, he died on March 12, 1914 aged 67, drawings of an electric wheelchair he was designing were close at hand. He and his wife Marguerite, who survived him by only three months, had been together in marriage for over 47 years. They are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1930, a memorial to Westinghouse, funded by his employees, was placed in Schenley Park in Pittsburgh.
Little Known Facts:
Round up of some of his achievements:
Many honours were awarded to him.