George Westinghouse: The Inventor Who Gave the World Safe Electricity

On October sixth, eighteen forty-six, George Westinghouse was born in Central Bridge, New York, USA. He was an inventor, engineer, and industrialist, and his work defined the field of electrical engineering and power transmission.

Westinghouse is most famous for his pivotal role in the "War of the Currents" against Thomas Edison. While Edison promoted direct current, which had limitations in range, Westinghouse saw the enormous potential in Nikola Tesla's alternating current technology. Westinghouse purchased Tesla's patents and led a commercial and publicity campaign to make alternating current the world standard. The success was demonstrated when his company won the contract to illuminate the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in eighteen ninety-three, and later by building the first power generators at Niagara Falls. By championing alternating current, which can be transmitted over long distances with less loss, Westinghouse made electricity accessible and practical for entire nations. His earlier invention of a compressed air brake system for railways had also revolutionized transport safety. George Westinghouse's legacy is not just a series of inventions, but an electrical infrastructure that the entire modern world is built upon.