1846–1914 · INVENTOR & INDUSTRIAL PIONEER
George Westinghouse brought invention and enterprise together—making railway travel safer and helping bring alternating current into everyday life.
IDEAS THAT BECAME INFRASTRUCTURE
His achievements reached beyond a workshop. They changed transportation, electrical power, and the communities where industry took root.
Westinghouse's railway air brake changed how trains stopped. His later automatic system provided a crucial safeguard: a loss of air pressure could apply the brakes, including when cars separated.
More dependable braking helped make railway travel safer and supported the growth of rail transportation.
ASME: the automatic air brakeWestinghouse championed alternating current and backed Nikola Tesla's polyphase technology. Tesla's ideas, engineers' work, and Westinghouse's manufacturing helped turn electrical inventions into practical systems.
He helped carry new technology from the laboratory into everyday life.
Library of Congress: the timelineWestinghouse Electric illuminated the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Westinghouse generating equipment at Niagara Falls became part of a landmark achievement in electric power.
Invention, manufacturing, and determination brought these ambitious projects to life.
Smithsonian: the Niagara generatorMILESTONES IN A CHANGING WORLD
Westinghouse Air Brake Company organized.
Westinghouse Electric Company formed.
The air brake company moved to Wilmerding.
Westinghouse Electric illuminated the Chicago exposition.
THE PLACE BEHIND THE NAME
The Westinghouse Air Brake Company moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, in 1889. Its factory, workers, and surrounding community became closely connected.
Read the Library of Congress history