About: Founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and was renamed CBS Corporation in 1997. George Westinghouse had previously founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.
The company pioneered long-distance power transmission and high-voltage transmission. Westinghouse Electric received the rights for the first patent for alternating-current transmission from Nikola Tesla and unveiled the technology for lighting in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
In addition to George Westinghouse, engineers working for the company included William Stanley, Nikola Tesla, Oliver B. Shallenberger, Benjamin Garver Lamme and his sister Bertha Lamme. It was historically the rival to General Electric which was founded by George Westinghouse's arch-rival, Thomas Edison (see War of the Currents).
The company is also known for its time capsule contributions during the 1939 New York World's Fair and 1964 New York World's Fair. |