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About Westinghouse

Since 1886, Westinghouse has brought the best to life.

You can see it in the products we make. The power we create. The people we help. Today, our legacy
lives on with technology that is transforming the human experience, from smart appliances for the home
to energy solutions that are cleanly and safely powering us into the next generation.

Find out how George Westinghouse’s legacy changed the world forever.

  • 1846

    George Westinghouse born in Central
    Bridge, New York.

  • 1865

    George Westinghouse patents the rotary
    steam engine.

  • 1869

    Westinghouse patents the air brake,
    revolutionizing railroad safety.

  • 1869

    Westinghouse Air Brake Company
    is founded.

  • 1871

    Westinghouse Air Brake Company implements half-day
    Saturdays, a big step toward the five-day work week.

  • 1873

    Westinghouse invented the automatic air brake by
    utilizing a triple valve system that equipped each car
    with its own air cylinder.

  • 1881

    Westinghouse founds Union Switch and Signal Company to develop closed-track circuits and interlocking systems for railroads.

  • 1886

    Westinghouse Electric Company is founded.

  • 1888

    Nikola Tesla receives a patent for the first alternating current motor and comes to work for Westinghouse Electric Company.

  • 1891

    Westinghouse built the world’s first industrial AC system, Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant.

  • 1893

    Westinghouse beats Thomas Edison for the contract to light the Chicago World’s Fair with AC power and wins the “War of the Currents.”

  • 1896

    Installed hydropower AC generators at Adams Power Plant, Niagara Falls which supplied power to Buffalo, New York

  • 1901

    First commercial Westinghouse steam turbine driven generator, 1,500 kW unit nicknamed the Mary-Ann, Hartford Electric Light Co.

  • 1905

    Westinghouse’s first main- line AC powered locomotive produced for New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Mode:l NH EP1 Supplied voltage: 11 kV, 25 Hz AC, 600 V DC & 636 V AC.

  • 1914

    Westinghouse acquires Copeman Electric Stove Company and enters the home appliance market.

  • 1914

    George Westinghouse dies, leaving a legacy that includes 361 patents and the founding of 60 companies.

  • 1920

    Westinghouse makes history with the first commercial radio broadcast in the country. Radio station KDKA begins operations.

  • 1921

    Westinghouse introduces the first factory-built radio receiver.

  • 1923

    Westinghouse pioneers the first international shortwave radio broadcast.

  • 1930

    55,000 Westinghouse workers honor George Westinghouse by raising funds to build a memorial and garden in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park.

  • 1933

    The world’s fastest elevators are built for New York’s Rockefeller Center.

  • 1937

    Westinghouse Electric constructs the first atom smasher to explore the potential of nuclear energy as a practical power source.

  • 1939

    Westinghouse makes an impression at the New York World’s Fair with its Hall of Power and Elektro, the walking, talking robot.

  • 1940s

    Westinghouse supports the war effort on many fronts, including the creation of the famous “We Can Do It” poster.

  • 1941

    Westinghouse begins producing power at Grand Coulee Dam.

  • 1947

    First all-weather airport approach lighting installed at Idlewild International Airport, New York.

  • 1948

    First industrial 2000 HP, W21 gas turbine installed at the Mississippi River Fuel Corp in Wilmar, Arkansas

  • 1950s

    Westinghouse markets its appliance line with the Freedom Fair advertising campaign.

  • 1954

    The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, was launched with a reactor built by Westinghouse.

  • 1960

    Paul Rand designs the Westinghouse logo.

  • 1969

    Westinghouse cameras capture the first moonwalk for viewers back on earth.

  • 1977

    Westinghouse introduces the first airborne surveillance radar system.

  • 1994

    Introduction of the 501G gas turbine the largest and most efficient of its type in the world.

  • 2002

    Introduction of Eye Saver™ light bulb.

  • 2011

    First line of consumer portable power generators released.

  • 2017

    New line of smart power digital inverters and open frame generators with WIFI control from mobile devices.