George Westinghouse

George Westinghouse
Westinghouse in 1884
Born	(1846-10-06)October 6, 1846 Central Bridge, New York, U.S.
Died	March 12, 1914(1914-03-12) (aged 67) New York City, U.S.
Known for	Founder of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation
Spouse	Marguerite Erskine Walker ​ ​ (m. 1867)​
Children	1
Awards	John Fritz Medal (1906) IEEE Edison Medal (1911)
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George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who is best known for his creation of the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse saw the potential of using alternating current for electric power distribution in the early 1880s. He founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1886.^[1] Westinghouse's business was in direct competition with Thomas Edison, who marketed direct current for electric power distribution. The Westinghouse company successfully marketed its AC system at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and went on to install the first large-scale commercial AC power generation plant at Niagara Falls by August 1895. In 1911 Westinghouse received the American Institute of Electrical Engineers's (AIEE) Edison Medal "For meritorious achievement in connection with the development of the alternating current system".^[2]