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Driving innovation for over 130 years, Westinghouse has been there for our history's biggest moments.
Find out how the legacy started
George Westinghouse born in Central Bridge, New York.
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George Westinghouse patents the rotary steam engine.
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Westinghouse patents the air brake, revolutionizing railroad safety.
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Westinghouse Air Brake Company is founded.
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Westinghouse Air Brake Company implements half-day Saturdays, a big step toward the five-day work week.
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Westinghouse invented the automatic air brake by utilizing a triple valve system that equipped each car with its own air cylinder.
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Westinghouse founds Union Switch and Signal Company to develop closed-track circuits and interlocking systems for railroads.
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Westinghouse Electric Company is founded.
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Nikola Tesla receives a patent for the first alternating current motor and comes to work for Westinghouse Electric Company.
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Westinghouse built the world’s first industrial AC system, Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant.
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Westinghouse beats Thomas Edison for the contract to light the Chicago World’s Fair with AC power and wins the “War of the Currents.”
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Installed hydropower AC generators at Adams Power Plant, Niagara Falls which supplied power to Buffalo, New York
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First commercial Westinghouse steam turbine driven generator, 1,500 kW unit nicknamed the Mary-Ann, Hartford Electric Light Co.
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Westinghouse’s first main-line AC powered locomotive produced for New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Mode:l NH EP1 Supplied voltage: 11 kV, 25 Hz AC, 600 V DC & 636 V AC.
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Westinghouse acquires Copeman Electric Stove Company and enters the home appliance market.
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George Westinghouse dies, leaving a legacy that includes 361 patents and the founding of 60 companies.
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Westinghouse makes history with the first commercial radio broadcast in the country. Radio station KDKA begins operations.
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Westinghouse introduces the first factory-built radio receiver.
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Westinghouse pioneers the first international shortwave radio broadcast.
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55,000 Westinghouse workers honor George Westinghouse by raising funds to build a memorial and garden in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park.
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The world’s fastest elevators are built for New York’s Rockefeller Center.
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Westinghouse Electric constructs the first atom smasher to explore the potential of nuclear energy as a practical power source.
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Westinghouse makes an impression at the New York World’s Fair with its Hall of Power and Elektro, the walking, talking robot.
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Westinghouse supports the war effort on many fronts, including the creation of the famous “We Can Do It” poster.
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Westinghouse begins producing power at Grand Coulee Dam.
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First all-weather airport approach lighting installed at Idlewild International Airport, New York.
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First industrial 2000 HP, W21 gas turbine installed at the Mississippi River Fuel Corp in Wilmar, Arkansas
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Westinghouse markets its appliance line with the Freedom Fair advertising campaign.
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The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear submarine, was launched with a reactor built by Westinghouse.
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Paul Rand designs the Westinghouse logo.
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Westinghouse cameras capture the first moonwalk for viewers back on earth.
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Westinghouse introduces the first airborne surveillance radar system.
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