The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age ...

. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in 1945. The company acquired the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television network in 1995 and was renamed "CBS Corporation" until being acquired by

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

in 1999, a merger completed in April 2000. The CBS Corporation name was later reused for one of the two companies resulting from the split of Viacom in 2006. The Westinghouse trademarks are owned by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and were previously part of

Westinghouse Licensing Corporation The Westinghouse Licensing Corporation (now named Wilmerding Licensing Corporation) was a Delaware General Corporation Law organized subsidiary that was founded in 1998 by Westinghouse-CBS (the renamed original Westinghouse) in managing the in ...

. The nuclear power business,

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

, was spun off from the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1999.

History

Westinghouse Electric was founded by

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, on January 8, 1886. The firm became active in developing

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

infrastructure throughout the United States. The company's largest factories were located in East Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and Lester, Pennsylvania and in Hamilton, Ontario, where they made

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

s, generators, motors, and switch gear for generation, transmission, and use of electricity. In addition to George Westinghouse, early engineers working for the company included

Frank Conrad Frank Conrad (May 4, 1874 – December 10, 1941) was an electrical engineer, best known for radio development, including his work as a pioneer broadcaster. He worked for the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, P ...

Benjamin Garver Lamme Benjamin Garver Lamme (January 12, 1864 – July 8, 1924) was an American electrical engineer and chief engineer at Westinghouse, where he was responsible for the design of electrical power machines. Lamme created an efficient induction motor fr ...

, Bertha Lamme (first woman mechanical engineer in the United States), Oliver B. Shallenberger, William Stanley,

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Stephen Timoshenko Stepan Prokofyevich Timoshenko (russian: Степан Прокофьевич Тимошенко, p=sʲtʲɪˈpan prɐˈkofʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tʲɪmɐˈʂɛnkə; uk, Степан Прокопович Тимошенко, Stepan Prokopovych Tymoshenko; ...

and

Vladimir Zworykin Vladimir Kosma Zworykin; or with the patronymic as ''Kosmich''; or russian: Кузьмич, translit=Kuz'mich, label=none. Zworykin anglicized his name to ''Vladimir Kosma Zworykin'', replacing the patronymic with the name ''Kosma'' as a middle ...

. Early on, Westinghouse was a rival to

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

's electric company. In 1892, Edison was merged with Westinghouse's chief AC rival, the

Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company which was one of the precursors of the General Electric company. History The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1882 in the United States when a group of Lynn, Massa ...

, making an even bigger competitor,

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company changed its name to Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1945.

CBS Corporation

In 1990, Westinghouse experienced a financial catastrophe when the Corporation lost over one billion dollars due to bad high-risk, high-fee, high-interest loans made by its

Westinghouse Credit Corporation Westinghouse may refer to: Businesses Current companies *Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the company that manages the Westinghouse brand, with licensees: **Westinghouse Electric Company, providing nuclear power-related services **Westinghou ...

lending arm. Westinghouse purchased

CBS Inc. CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1995, for $5.4 billion. Westinghouse Electric Corporation changed its name to and became the original "CBS Corporation" in 1997. Also in 1997, the Power Generation Business Unit, headquartered in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, was sold to

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

, of Germany. A year later, CBS sold all of its commercial nuclear power businesses to

British Nuclear Fuels Limited British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (main ...

(BNFL). In connection with that sale, certain rights to use the Westinghouse trademarks were granted to the newly formed BNFL subsidiary,

. That company was sold to

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

in 2006. In an attempt to revitalize the corporation, the Board of Directors appointed outside management in the form of CEO

Michael H. Jordan Michael H. Jordan (June 13, 1936 – May 25, 2010) was an American businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of PepsiCo Worldwide Foods (1986–1990), Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1993–1998), CBS Corporation (1995–1998), and ...

, who brought in numerous consultants to help re-engineer the company in order to realize the potential that they saw in the broadcasting industry. Westinghouse reduced the workforce in many of its traditional industrial operations and made further acquisitions in broadcasting to add to its already substantial Group W network, purchasing CBS in 1995. Shortly after, Westinghouse purchased

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus ...

, TNN, CMT,

American Radio Systems American Radio Systems Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1993 until 1998. Its predecessor, Atlantic Ventures, was founded by Steven B. Dodge, Eric Schultz, Joseph Winn, and Michael Milsom. American Radio Systems was formed from ...

, and rights to NFL broadcasting. These investments cost the company over fifteen billion dollars. To recoup its costs, Westinghouse sold many other operations. Siemens purchased its non-nuclear power generation division, while other firms bought its defense electronics division, its metering and load control division (which was sold to

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

), its

residential security Home security includes both the security hardware placed on a property and individuals' personal security practices. Security hardware includes doors, locks, alarm systems, lighting, motion detectors, and security camera systems. Personal se ...

division, the office furniture company

Knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, A ...

, and

Thermo King Thermo King is an American manufacturer of transport temperature control systems for refrigerator trucks and trailers, refrigerated containers and refrigerated railway cars along with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for bus and ...

. With little remaining of the company other than its broadcasting division, Westinghouse renamed itself CBS Corporation in 1997.

Patents

During the 20th century, Westinghouse engineers and scientists were granted more than 28,000 U.S. patents, the third most of any company.2009 Westinghouse corporate profile

Products and sponsorships

*Power generation: The company pioneered the power generation industry and in the fields of long-distance power transmission and high-voltage

alternating-current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which ...

transmission, unveiling the technology for lighting in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

. *Steam turbine generator: The first commercial Westinghouse steam turbine-driven generator, a 1,500 kW unit, began operation at Hartford Electric Light Co. in 1901. The machine, nicknamed Mary-Ann, was the first steam turbine generator to be installed by an electric utility to generate electricity in the US. George Westinghouse had based his original steam turbine design on designs licensed from the English inventor Charles Parsons. Today a large proportion of steam turbine generators operating around the world, ranging to units as large as 1,500 MW (or 1,000 times the original 1901 unit) were supplied by Westinghouse from its factories in Lester, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, North Carolina; or Hamilton, Ont. or were built overseas under Westinghouse license. Major Westinghouse licensees or joint venture partners included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan and Harbin Turbine Co. and Shanghai Electric Co. of China. *Research: Westinghouse had 50,000 employees by 1900 and established a formal research and development department in 1906. While the company was expanding, it would experience internal financial difficulties. During the Panic of 1907, the Board of Directors forced George Westinghouse to take a six-month leave of absence. Westinghouse officially retired in 1909 and died several years later in 1914. *Electrical technology: Under new leadership, Westinghouse Electric diversified its business activities in electrical technology. It acquired the Copeman Electric Stove Company in 1914 and Pittsburgh High Voltage Insulator Company in 1921. Westinghouse also moved into radio broadcasting by establishing Pittsburgh's KDKA, the first commercial radio station, and WBZ in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1921. Westinghouse expanded into the elevator business, establishing the Westinghouse Elevator Company in 1928; it sold its elevator business to

Schindler Group , logo = Logo-schindler.png , logo_size = 200px , image = SchindlerTestTowerHeadOfficeEbikon.jpg , image_size = 250px , image_caption = Schindler Test Tower at the Head Office in Ebikon, Switzerland , type = Public (''Aktiengesellschaft'') , ...

(forming the

Schindler Elevator Corporation Schindler Elevator Corporation is the American division of Schindler Group, and traces its origins back to 1869 with the establishment of the Haughton Elevator Company and 1928 with the founding of the Westinghouse Elevator Division. History Nat ...

) in 1989. Throughout the decade, diversification engendered considerable growth; sales went from $43 million in 1914 to $216 million in 1929. *Aviation: Westinghouse produced the first operational American

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

for the US Navy program in 1943. After many successes, the ill-fated J40 project, started soon after World War Two, was abandoned in 1955 and led to Westinghouse exiting the aircraft engine business with the closure of the

Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division The Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division (AGT) was established by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1945 to continue the development and production of its turbo-jet gas turbine engines for aircraft propulsion under contract to the US Navy ...

(Kansas City) in 1960. *Gas turbines: During the late 1940s Westinghouse applied its aviation gas turbine technology and experience to develop its first industrial gas turbine. A 2,000–horsepower model W21 was installed in 1948 at the Mississippi River Fuel Corp gas compression station in

Wilmar, Arkansas Wilmar is a city in Drew County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 511 at the 2010 census, down from 571 in 2000. Geography Wilmar is located in western Drew County at (33.627572, -91.930820), along U.S. Route 278, which leads east ...

. This was the beginning of a 50-year history of Westinghouse industrial and utility gas turbine development, prior to the sale by Westinghouse of the power generation business to Siemens, AG in 1998. Evolving from the Small Steam and Gas Turbine Division formed in the early 1950s, the

Westinghouse Combustion Turbine Systems Division The Westinghouse Combustion Turbine Systems Division (CTSD), part of Westinghouse Electric Corporation's Westinghouse Power Generation group, was originally located, along with the Steam Turbine Division (STD), in a major industrial manufacturing ...

was located in Concordville, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia and the old Lester, Pennsylvania plant, until it was relocated to Power Generation headquarters in Orlando, Florida in 1987. *Nuclear power: As a result of its participation in the US government's military program for nuclear energy applications (e.g., ''The Nuclear Navy'') Westinghouse was instrumental in the development and commercialization of nuclear energy systems for electric power generation. This business currently operates as the

and is owned by Brookfield Business Partners of Canada. Electricite de France (EDF) a major global player in the nuclear power business, was a long-time licensee of the Westinghouse nuclear technology. *Industrial motors: Additional major industrial products in the widespread Westinghouse portfolio included electric motors of all sizes, elevators and escalators, controls and lighting. The Large Motor Division, once headquartered in Buffalo, NY, entered a joint venture with Taiwan Electric Co. (TECO) in the 1970s and today operates as TECO-Westinghouse. Much of Westinghouse's higher voltage power equipment was sold to ABB in 1989 and renamed the ABB Power T&D Company. *Rail transit: The Westinghouse Transportation Division (est. 1894) supplied equipment and controls for many North American

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...

and

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

lines, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Washington DC METRO (

WMATA The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA was created by the United States Con ...

), New York City Subway (NYCT) equipment from the 1890s elevated era to the R68A in 1988, among many other heavy rail and rail transit systems and built locomotives, often in partnership with Baldwin, Lima-Hamilton as well as supplying electrical and traction equipment for

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

. The division designed and built Automated People Movers (APMs) at several major U.S. airports, including Sea-Tac. Tampa, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Orlando. The Transportation Division was sold to AEG of Germany (1988), which merged into a joint venture of

and Daimler Benz named AdTranz in 1996. Ultimately, the unit was acquired by Bombardier of Canada in 2001 and is still headquartered in Pittsburgh. *Consumer electrics: Westinghouse was also a leader in the design and manufacturing of household electrical products including radios, televisions, and other audio/video equipment, and both small and large electric appliances of all kinds, from hair dryers and electric irons to clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators and air conditioning units. For many years Westinghouse was a familiar household name and favored brand. After more than 50 years, and after playing a strong No. 2 to rival General Electric for most of that time, Westinghouse decided to exit the appliance business in the mid- 1970s.

White-Westinghouse White-Westinghouse is an American home appliance brand currently used under license by trademark owner Westinghouse Licensing Corporation. It was created in 1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's ma ...

was formed when White Consolidated acquired the Westinghouse appliance unit in 1975. *World's Fair time capsules: The company is also known for its time capsule contributions during the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

and 1964 New York World's Fair. They also participated in the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. They sponsored the Westinghouse Auditorium at the fair, where they showed films documenting Westinghouse products and company plants. Westinghouse was one of the original corporate sponsors and exhibitors at Walt Disney World's EPCOT attraction in Orlando, Florida.

Environmental incidents

There have been a number of Westinghouse-related environmental incidents in the US. Below is a short list of these. All of these are chemical pollution incidents; none of them involve nuclear reactors or nuclear pollution. *Sharon plant: The Westinghouse Sharon Plant was a 58-acre Westinghouse transformer production facility in

Mercer County, Pennsylvania Mercer County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 110,652. Its county seat is Mercer, and its largest city is Hermitage. The county was created in 1800 and later organized in 1803. Merce ...

. The EPA's recent Five Year Review Report (2016) of this Superfund site determined that the Shenango River has been polluted due to Westinghouse operations in this area. Because of the findings, the state of Pennsylvania has issued a "Do Not Eat" advisory for fish around the Westinghouse site. This plant was no longer operational after 1984. Westinghouse submitted their final cleanup plan in 1998, and further action beyond their dissolution has been liable to CBS. The transformer business unit was sold to ABB in 1989. This site now houses a product design company. *Adams County plant: Westinghouse was fined $5.5 million in 1996 for polluting groundwater in over 100 wells, as well as other water sources, while operating its Westinghouse Elevator Company plant in

Adams County, Pennsylvania Adams County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,852. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the secon ...

. Degreasers and other toxic chemicals were released over a 5-year period in the 1980s. This business unit was sold to Schindler in 1988. Future liability for cleanup has been directed to CBS following the dissolution of Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1999. *Horseheads site: Westinghouse operated a cathode-ray tube plant in Horseheads, New York. They were deemed responsible for pollution at the Kentucky Avenue Wellfield Superfund site in

Horseheads, New York Horseheads is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 19,412 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is derived from the number of bleached horses' skulls once found there. Horseheads is north of the city of Elmira ...

. Westinghouse polluted nearby soil, affecting the safety of a nearby aquifer and wells used by residents. One phase of the cleanup effort describes Westinghouse Electric Corporation's facility, designated "Disposal Area F" and the "Former Runoff Basin Area," which are contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs),

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...

s (PAHs) and arsenic, will be cleaned up using a combination of soil excavation and

soil vapor extraction Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a physical treatment process for in situ remediation of volatile contaminants in vadose zone (unsaturated) soils (EPA, 2012). SVE (also referred to as in situ soil venting or vacuum extraction) is based on mass tran ...

. At Disposal Area F, the area of contamination is about 0.3 acres. At the Former Runoff Basin Area, the contaminated soils cover approximately 0.7 acres. Disposal of the excavated soils occurred at appropriate off-site facilities. The removal of the PAHs and arsenic contamination will protect site workers and employees at the Westinghouse facility and the cleanup of the VOCs will help restore the quality of the Newtown Creek Aquifer. In 1986, Westinghouse entered a joint venture at this plant with Toshiba to produce CRTs. In 1989, Toshiba become part owner of this plant and the Westinghouse CRT business unit. Future liability has been shifted to CBS. *Sunnyvale plant: Westinghouse operated a plant which manufactured electronics for military systems in Sunnyvale, California. Groundwater and soil near this plant are contaminated with PCBs, fuels, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Potential health threats to area residents include accidentally ingesting or coming into direct contact with site contaminants in soil or groundwater. There are municipal drinking water wells within -mile from this site, and 300,000 people get their drinking water from within three miles of the site. This business unit was sold to Northrop Grumman in 1996. Future liability for this action has been passed on to CBS.

Timeline of company evolution

1880s

Westinghouse Electric Company (1888 catalogue)

Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Comp

* 1884 – George Westinghouse begins developing a DC electric lighting system * 1885 – Westinghouse becomes aware of the new European

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

based

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

systems when he reads about them in the UK technical journal ''Engineering'' * 1885 –

William Stanley, Jr. William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American physicist born in Brooklyn, New York. During his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices. In 1913, he also patented an all-steel vacuum bottl ...

, working for Westinghouse, develops the first practical AC transformer * 1886 – ''Westinghouse Electric Company'' founded in East Pittsburgh * 1886 – William Stanley, Jr. installs the world's first operational transformer based multiple voltage transmission system, a demonstration lighting system in

* 1888 – development of an induction ampere-hour meter for alternating current developed by Oliver B. Shallenberger * 1888 – licensing of

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Induction motor patents (Tesla was hired for one year as a consultant, but he quit after a few months). * 1889 – renames itself the ''Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company''

1890s

* 1891 – built world's first industrial AC system (

Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant The Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant, constructed in 1890 near Ophir, Colorado, was one of the first (if not the first) commercial system to produce and transmit alternating current (AC) electricity for industrial use and one of the first AC hy ...

) * 1893 – supplied electric lights and power for

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

and generators for

Gettysburg Electric Railway The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access1991 Gettysburg Times to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas (e.g., ...

* 1893 – Hired

Bertha Lamme Feicht Bertha Lamme Feicht (December 16, 1869 – November 20, 1943) was an American engineer. In 1893, she became the first woman to receive a degree in engineering from the Ohio State University. She is considered to be the first American woman to gr ...

, the company's first female engineer. * 1894 – Transportation Division (rail equipment) founded * 1895 – installed hydropower AC generators at

Adams Power Plant Adams Power Plant Transformer House in Niagara Falls, New York is a National Historic Landmarked building constructed in 1895. It is the only remaining structure that was part of the historic Edward Dean Adams Power Plant, the first large-scale, a ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

which supplied power to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, completed 1896 * 1898 – Purchases Walker Mfg. Co of Cleveland, establishing main facility and plant in Cleveland which produces power-transmitting machinery,

cable railway Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...

networks, castings and lighting * 1899 – founded British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company

1900s to 1920s

* 1901 – acquires

Bryant Electric Company The Bryant Electric Company was a manufacturer of wiring devices, electrical components, and switches founded in 1888 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States. It grew to become for a time both the world's largest plant devoted to the manufacture ...

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, which continues operation as a subsidiary * 1901 – operation of first Westinghouse steam turbine generator installed at Hartford Electric Light Company * 1904 – with Baldwin, markets Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotives and A.C. electrification of railroads, particularly to the

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

* 1909 – introduces continuous-filament tungsten light bulb; ousts George Westinghouse as chairman during bankruptcy reorganization * 1914 – acquires

Copeman Electric Stove Company Copeman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Constance Copeman (1864–1953), English painter * Fred Copeman (1907–1983), English volunteer during the Spanish Civil War * Lloyd Groff Copeman (1881–1956), American inventor ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

from

Lloyd Groff Copeman Lloyd Groff Copeman (December 28, 1881 – July 5, 1956) was an American inventor who devised the first electric stove and the flexible rubber ice cube tray, among other products. He had nearly 700 patents to his name, and he claimed that he cou ...

, moves it to

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The city ...

and enters the

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three ty ...

market (sold in 1974 to

White Consolidated Industries The White Sewing Machine Company was a sewing machine company founded in 1858 in Templeton, Massachusetts, by Thomas H. White and based in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1866. History Founded as the White Manufacturing Company it took the White S ...

) * 1914 – George Westinghouse dies, with a legacy including 361 patents and the founding of 60 companies. * 1915 – New England Westinghouse Company opens for business. First product is Mosin–Nagant rifles for the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Czar's army. Within two years, the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s overthrow the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

and cancel a previous order of over 1 million rifles. Facing

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, Westinghouse is rescued by the American Government when it purchases the rifles for use by the military. * 1916 – share of British Westinghouse purchased by a British holding company, which becomes

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

* 1917 – builds steam turbine manufacturing plant in Lester, PA ( Tinicum Township) near the Philadelphia airport * 1919 – 8XE Pittsburgh experimental station goes on the air. * 1919 – Creates RCA with GE, AT&T and United Fruit, buys the American division of Marconi. * 1920 – Acquires International Radio Telegraph Company (formerly known as the

National Electric Signaling Company Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932) was a Canadian-born inventor, who did a majority of his work in the United States and also claimed U.S. citizenship through his American-born father. During his life he received hundre ...

) * 1921 – acquires the Pittsburg High Voltage Insulator Company * 1920s – enters the broadcasting industry, with stations like KDKA in

and WBZ in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

* 1926 – In partnership with GE and RCA founds NBC Broadcasting.

1930s and 1940s

* 1932 – announces Ignitron

mercury-arc rectifier A mercury-arc valve or mercury-vapor rectifier or (UK) mercury-arc rectifier is a type of electrical rectifier used for converting high-voltage or high-current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is a type of cold cathode gas-fil ...

* 1934 – opens its Home of Tomorrow in

, to demonstrate Westinghouse home appliances * 1935 – completes longest continuous electric steel annealing furnace in the world at

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States pe ...

* 1930s – funds invention of the

magnetohydrodynamic generator A magnetohydrodynamic generator (MHD generator) is a magnetohydrodynamic converter that transforms thermal energy and kinetic energy directly into electricity. An MHD generator, like a conventional generator, relies on moving a conductor through a m ...

* 1937 – builds first "industrial atom smasher", a 5

MeV In physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV, also written electron-volt and electron volt) is the measure of an amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating from rest through an electric potential difference of one volt in vacu ...

Van de Graaff

electrostatic nuclear accelerator An electrostatic particle accelerator is a particle accelerator in which charged particles are accelerated to a high energy by a static high voltage potential. This contrasts with the other major category of particle accelerator, oscillating fie ...

* 1940s – enters aviation with airborne

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

(defense electronics sold 1996), jet engine propulsion, and ground-based airport lighting, gets defense contract from U.S. military to produce plastic helmet liners for the M1 Helmet * 1941 – after years of resistance to the unionization efforts of its employees and to the

National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and ...

, signs a national labor agreement with the

United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), is an independent democratic rank-and-file labor union representing workers in both the private and public sectors across the United States. UE was one of the first unions to be c ...

after a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the Act. * 1943 – purchased the lamp division of Kentucky-Radio Corporation (Ken-Rad) in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

from Roy Burlew in exchange for 35,000 shares of Westinghouse stock valued at $1.6 million ($ million today^when?) * 1945 – renames itself the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and makes first automatic elevator. * 1945 –

(AGT) started * 1948 – "You Can Be Sure... If It's Westinghouse" in Time magazine ad

1950s to 1970s

* 1951 – conducts first live network TV in U.S. * 1952 – opens Cathode Ray Tube facility in

Horseheads Horseheads is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 19,412 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is derived from the number of bleached horses' skulls once found there. Horseheads is north of the city of Elmi ...

, New York; facility housed three divisions: Cathode Ray Tube, Electronic Tube, and Industrial and Government Tube. * 1954 – enters finance as

* 1955 – buys KDKA-TV (then WDTV) and KYW (originally, and currently WTAM) radio Cleveland. KYW is now licensed to a TV and AM radio station in Philadelphia. * 1955 –

Westinghouse J40 The Westinghouse J40 was an early high-performance afterburning turbojet engine designed by Westinghouse Aviation Gas Turbine Division starting in 1946 to a US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) request. BuAer intended to use the design in severa ...

engine failure causes all F3H fighters using the engine to be grounded, and all other jets using it to switch to other engines. Westinghouse forced out of aircraft engine business. * 1957 – introduces first successful "cobra head" roadway luminaire, the OV-25, integrating both ballast and optics in a more streamlined modern design. * 1961 – acquires

(sold in 1997 to

Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand is an American multinational company that provides flow creation and industrial products. The company was formed in February 2020 through the spinoff of the industrial segment of Ingersoll-Randplc (now known as Trane Technologies) ...

) * 1964 – begins Skybus project; beginning of automated mass transit * 1965 – invention of the first

MEMS Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

device, buys Marketeer Electronic Vehicles * 1966 – founds Cinema Center Films * 1966 – starts housing and real estate development divisions * 1966 – buys a toy manufacturer * 1967 – lights America's first computer-controlled outdoor electric sign * 1967 – makes the lowest bid for the

BART Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

project * 1969 – buys 7-Up bottling * 1973 – develops world's first

AMLCD An active-matrix liquid-crystal display (AMLCD) is a type of flat-panel display, the only viable technology for high-resolution TVs, computer monitors, notebook computers, tablet computers and smartphones with an LCD screen, due to low weight, ...

displays * 1974 – sells well-known home appliance division to

which becomes

* 1979 – withdraws from all oil related projects in the Middle East after

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

1980s

* 1981 – acquires both

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

operator

TelePrompter A teleprompter, also known as an autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to using cue cards. The screen is in front of, and usually be ...

(sold 1985),

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...

(sold September 1986) and 50% of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

for $576 million. * 1982 – acquires robot maker

Unimation Unimation was the world's first robotics company. It was founded in 1962 by Joseph F. Engelberger and George Devol and was located in Danbury, Connecticut. Devol had already applied for a patent an industrial robotic arm in 1954; was issued in ...

* 1982 – sells

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

division to Cooper Lighting * 1983 – sells electric lamp division to

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

* 1984 – buys Unimation robotics for $105 million. * 1986 – buys Los Angeles TV station. * 1986 – Enters into joint venture with Airship Industries, Ltd. (London) to develop advanced lighter-then-air radar platforms and early warning surveillance

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

for

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

in cooperation with its subsidiary TCOM Corp. located on the former Naval Air Station Weeksville in

Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It ...

* 1987 – buys radio stations in Sacramento and Chicago. * 1987 – buys electrical equipment, engineering and waste disposal divisions. * 1988 – sells elevator/escalator division to

, now known as

. * 1988 – Enters into joint venture with Taiwan Electric to build Electric motors; Taiwan Electric eventually becomes sole owner of business as TECO Motor Company * 1988 – spins Industrial and Government Tube Division off as Imaging and Sensing Technologies Corporation. * 1988 – closes the East Pittsburgh generator and Lester, PA turbine plants, which had once been the primary Westinghouse manufacturing facilities. * 1988 – Bryant Electric subsidiary closed, assets sold to Hubbell in 1991 * 1988 – Transportation Division, including railroad (locomotive and mass transit) equipment business sold to AEG, later merged into Adtranz in 1996,

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...

in 2001 and

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

in 2021. * 1989 – sells transmission and distribution business to

Asea Brown Boveri ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to cre ...

Group (ABB) * 1989 – buys Shaw-Walker Furniture and Reff Furniture. * 1989 – buys Legacy Broadcasting.

1990s to 2020s

* 1990 – buys Knoll International Furniture. * 1994 – buys United Technologies' Norden electronic systems. * 1994 – Cleveland operations and facilities purchased by Eaton Corporation for $1.6 billion. Cleveland Westinghouse facilities, as well as manufacturing plants converted into other commercial enterprises * 1994–95 – separates IT and phone service sales into Westinghouse Communications division * 1995 – under the leadership of Michael H. Jordan buys

for $5.4 billion ($ billion today) * 1996 – buys

for $4.7 billion. * 1996 – sells Westinghouse Electronic Systems defense business to

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

for $3 billion ($ billion today), becoming

Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems (NGES) was a business segment of Northrop Grumman from 1996 to 2015 until a reorganization on January 1, 2016 merged other Northrop Grumman businesses into NGES to form a new segment called Mission Systems. NG ...

* 1997 – sells

division to

* 1997 – buys

for $2.6 billion, increasing station network to 175. * 1997 – sells most non-broadcast operations; renames itself CBS Corporation as of December 1 * 1998 – sells its non-nuclear power generation and energy units to

, which operated under the name

Siemens Westinghouse The Siemens Energy Sector was one of the four sectors of German industrial conglomerate Siemens. Founded on January 1, 2009, it generated and delivered power from numerous sources including the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and natu ...

until 2003. * 1998 – CBS Corporation creates Westinghouse Electric Corporation subsidiary to manage the Westinghouse

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

* 1999 – sells remaining manufacturing asset, its nuclear energy business, to BNFL. * 1999 – buys

Outdoor Systems Outfront Media, Inc. is one of the largest outdoor media companies. It operates in markets including the United States and Canada. The Americas division is led by chief executive officer Jeremy Male. Outfront Media operates both billboards and tr ...

for $8.7 billion and King World Productions for $2.5 billion. * 1999 – CBS acquired by

* 2006 – Viacom is split into two companies in January, with a new

being spun off of the old Viacom company, and the old Viacom being renamed as

CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...

thus reviving Westinghouse's last name prior to sale and reversing the 1999 Viacom-CBS merger. * 2019 –

and

remerge to form

Paramount Global Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...

(known as ViacomCBS until 2022). * 2021 – Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquires the Westinghouse Trademark from ViacomCBS.

Employees

CEOs

, 1886–1909 * Edwin M. Herr, 1911–1929 * F.A. Merrick, 1929 – February 1938 * George H. Bucher, February 1938 – 1946 * Gwilym A. Price, 1946–1957 * Mark W. Cresap, Jr. 1957–1963 * Don Burnham, 1963–1975 * Robert Kirby, 1975–1983 * Douglas Danforth, December 1983 – December 1987 * John Marous, 1988 – June 29, 1990 * Paul Lego, June 30, 1990 – January 1993 * Gary Clark, January 1993 – July 1993 *

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

, July 1993 – 1997

Other

Guy Tripp Guy Eastman Tripp (April 22, 1865 – June 14, 1927) was an American business executive and an officer in the United States Army. A longtime manager and executive for several companies, he served as Chairman of the Westinghouse Electric Corporat ...

, former Thomson-Houston employee who joined Westinghouse and became chairman of its board of directors in 1912.

Overseas subsidiaries

Westinghouse established subsidiary companies in several countries including British Westinghouse and Società Italiana Westinghouse in

Vado Ligure Vado Ligure ( lij, Voæ), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. Economy Vado has a large industrial and commercial port. Vado Ligure is home to a railway construction plant, ...

, Italy. British Westinghouse became a subsidiary of

in 1919 and the Italian Westinghouse factory was taken over by

Tecnomasio Tecnomasio was an Italian scientific and precision instrument company founded in the 1860s. By the beginning of the 20th century the company has begun to produce electrical equipment. After financial problems in the early 1900s the company was acq ...

in 1921.

Notes

References

External links

Timeline of Westinghouse historical events

"Who Killed Westinghouse?"
– March 1998 ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' series detailing Westinghouse's history and break-up
The Westinghouse Legacy
Pittsburgh Technology Council * *
Assembling a Generator, Westinghouse Works
1904
Westinghouse Electric Corporation Steam Division photograph collection
(1898–1964) at Hagley Museum and Library
''A Fact History of Westinghouse'' (for the Golden Jubilee)

Westinghouse Power Generation Business Unit, A booklet prepared in 1993 as a statement of commitment of the Power Generation Business Unit (PGBU) to the future of Westinghouse's leading position in the industry
{{Authority control *01 Defunct mass media companies of the United States Electrical engineering companies of the United States Marine engine manufacturers Military communications Defunct locomotive manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1886 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2000 1886 establishments in Pennsylvania 2000 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Predecessors of Paramount Global Nikola Tesla Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average Superfund sites in California Pittsburgh Labor History Engine manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1886 American companies disestablished in 2000 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Radio manufacturers