Most people know the name Westinghouse as the name of an appliance, but where did the name come from? Many people may not know that George Westinghouse was not only an inventor, but a visionary. George Westinghouse's many inventions fed the Industrial Revolution that swept through America in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Industrial Revolution brought many changes to the United States. Even though America was progressing, many ill effects were brought on by this expansion. Westinghouse was one of the Industrialist that actually cared about the many problems he saw in urban America. Westinghouse, at the age of forty-two, could no longer ignore "the evils of social upheaval created by too rapid industrial development"(Levine, 2). George Westinghouse wanted something done, but it looked as if he was the only one that would do it. George Westinghouse had influenced many areas of his era and ours. His many inventions, his good-willed policy toward his work!

ers and his business practices have affected all of us; but nothing will compare to the influences that he left on our country's upper-class - the concept

stances then existing and win the battle against prejudice and money power. He was one of the world's true noblemen, of whom America may well be proud and to whom humanity owes an immense debt of gratitude" (Corporate, 1) .

George Westinghouse was born eight of ten children into a middle class family on October 6, 1846. Westinghouse's father ran a small machine shop in Schendectady, NY, that manufactured mostly farm implements; as a result, Westinghouse was introduced to the world of machines at a very early age. Due to curiosities he found during the Civil War, in which he served in both the Northern Army and the Navy, Westinghouse invented a rotary steam engine. At age nineteen, this was his first patented invention; however, the design proved to be impractical. Despite his troubles, Westinghouse went on to invent a device for placing derailed railroad cars back on their tracks.

Westinghouse was very different from most of the other American Industrialist. From the start, Westinghouse was not motivated by money or power. He was motivated by knowing that his inventions and other work would be used to help mankind. Within two years after the Westinghouse Electric Company was founded, the company had grown from the original two-hundred employees to more than three thousand employees by 1888. By 1890, the Westinghouse Electric Company sales totaled four million dollars; Westinghouse had also installed more than three-hundred electrical generators including Niagara Falls, by this time. Westinghouse's business practices were very different than the business practices of they day. Westinghouse clearly was not a businessman, yet because of his dreams, he successfully ran his businesses in a way that baffled many businessmen.

would not address it, the upper class would not mention it, and the workers were too busy in their rat race to care. Westinghouse decided he must take action.

ted from his companies, inventions, and his visions. Would you have safe, odorless, and efficient lights in your house; would you see an illuminated advertisement on the highway; or would you have a paid vacation if it was not for George Westinghouse? He invented all those things. How about your pension? The hundred largest pensions in the U.S. "have assets exceeding two trillion dollars,"(Muhlenkamp, 3). That is something George Westinghouse would have enjoyed to see.

George Westinghouse's next frontier was railroad signaling. With the ever increasing use and expansion of railroads, signaling became a major problem. He created a signaling system using compressed air and electricity; thus, the Union Switch and Signal Company was founded in 1882. Indeed, Westinghouse helped the railroads greatly. With his railroad inventions, railroads became safer; accordingly, leading to the instillation of railroad passengers with confidence. He also created a more profitable operation for the railroads. The bigger profits that were made by the railroad barons, the more they invested and the faster the Industrial Revolution took place.

Finally, on a small railroad outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Westinghouse was able to try out his new air brake. On the trial run, the train came to a crossing where a farmer's wagon had broken down. Upon seeing this, the locomotive's engineer applied the new braking system. Too

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Approximate Word count = 2250
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)