Westinghouse versus Edison: Shocking and Revolting Competition

Here is a brief excerpt from American Entrepreneur: The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United States in which Larry Schweikart and Lynne Pierson Doti examine an especially nasty competition in the 1880s between George Westinghouse (not yet 30 and already a millionaire) and the legendary Thomas Edison. Westinghouse had developed alternating current (AC) electrical systems, a superior alternative to the direct current (DC) systems then in use, used by Edison’s various devices. “Westinghouse founded Westinghouse Electric Company in 1886 to build the equipment needed to control AC, developing a system of transformers and generators…Edison’s company enthusiastically publicized accidents from AC voltage, to the point of conducting experiments in which cats were electrocuted to show its dangers. Newspapers cooperated with stories whose headlines read ‘Electric Wire Slaughter” and “Another Lineman Roasted to Death.’ After the State of New York adopted electrocution (using AC) as its means of capital punishment, Edison officials referred to it as ‘Westinghousing’ the condemned.”

Then in 1892, Westinghouse’s company won the competition to provide the lighting for the Chicago Columbian Exposition, “proving to the world the safety and efficiency of AC power. That was the break that Westinghouse needed, and contracts to provide electricity to homes and businesses flooded Westinghouse Electric.” Years later, the ailing inventor’s insatiable curiosity remained as active as ever. “He spent his last year working on an electric wheelchair.”