Westinghouse Electric Corporation was a United States company that played a key role in the development of electric power, broadcasting, and electronics. The company was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company by George Westinghouse, an American manufacturer and engineer. Today, the company again operates as Westinghouse Electric Company, a division of Toshiba of Japan. It is based in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
In 1888, Westinghouse hired a brilliant Serbian inventor named Nikola Tesla. Westinghouse also acquired Tesla’s patents for a system that used alternating current (AC) to transmit electric power.
Westinghouse and American inventor Thomas Alva Edison then battled over competing systems for transmitting electric power. Edison had pioneered the direct current (DC) system then in use. Edison claimed that AC power was impractical and unsafe, but Tesla’s system could transmit higher voltages over longer distances than Edison’s could. In 1893, Westinghouse introduced the AC system to the public at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His system powered virtually all the electrical lights and exhibits at the exposition. Two years later, Westinghouse used Tesla’s equipment to harness the power of Niagara Falls and generate electricity.
In the early 1900’s, Westinghouse Electric began manufacturing electrical appliances. In 1920, the company established radio station KDKA, one of the first two commercial radio stations in the United States. During World War II (1939-1945), Westinghouse began producing radar and other equipment for the United States military. In the early 1970’s, the company sold its appliance business and began investing in nuclear power. However, Westinghouse experienced a steep decline in its nuclear energy business following the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history in 1979 at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
Westinghouse then greatly expanded its broadcasting operations. In 1995, Westinghouse purchased the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). In 1997, Westinghouse changed its name to CBS Corporation. CBS sold the nuclear power operation in 1998 to a U.S.-British buyer, which then sold it in 2006 to Toshiba. In 2017, Westinghouse Electric Company, owned by Toshiba, filed for bankruptcy amid heavy financial losses from nuclear construction projects in the United States. In 2018, Toshiba agreed to sell Westinghouse Electric Company to Brookfield Business Partners, a Canadian investment firm.
