[News Figures] 'Protesting Czech Nuclear Power Plant Contract' Westinghouse Founder 'George Westinghouse'

Inventor and Entrepreneur Holding 361 Patents
Winner of the Current War Against Inventor King Edison
Established the Foundation of Modern Electrical Civilization with Tesla

Westinghouse, the American nuclear power company that has interfered with South Korea's Czech nuclear power plant construction project. This company was founded by 'George Westinghouse,' who named the company after himself. George Westinghouse was an American inventor and businessman who, along with Nikola Tesla, the father of alternating current (AC) electricity, laid the foundation of modern electrical civilization. The two were lifelong rivals of the 'Wizard of Menlo Park,' Thomas Edison.

Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla
[Photo by Heritage Auction Gallery]

George Westinghouse was born on October 6, 1846, in Central Bridge, a small town in New York State, to George Westinghouse Sr., a farm machinery manufacturer, and his mother, Emmeline Vedder. He was a German-American, and his ancestors' original surname was 'Westinghausen.' His ancestors came from Westphalia, Germany, passed through England, and arrived in the United States.

Thanks to his father's business, Westinghouse developed an interest in machinery from a young age. When not attending school, he spent most of his time in the factory. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, at the age of 15, he enlisted in the New York State Militia. Serving in both the army and navy, Westinghouse invented the rotary steam engine (forming engine) in 1865 and received his first patent. At 21, in 1867, he married Margaret Erskine Walker, who was four years older, and they had a son, George Westinghouse III.

In 1869, he invented the 'air brake,' a braking device that revolutionized the railroad industry. Before this invention, a so-called 'brakeman' manually operated the braking devices attached to each train car. If the brakeman missed or misinterpreted the engineer's signal, it could lead to derailments or collisions. In contrast, the 'air brake' was a centralized control system that used compressed air tanks built into each car and air resistance to decelerate. The engineer alone controlled the central control valve, enabling quick responses in emergencies. This system greatly influenced the development of large land transportation vehicles today.

Chicago World's Fair with Lights On, Niagara Power Plant Plaque
Photo by Tesla Memorial Society

Westinghouse's next goal was 'electricity.' In 1886, he founded the Westinghouse Electric Company. He obtained exclusive rights to the patent for the alternating current (AC) motor from Nikola Tesla, who had been Thomas Edison's assistant, and challenged Edison's dominance of the direct current (DC) electricity market. The historic rivalry between DC and AC ultimately ended in victory for the Westinghouse-Tesla alliance. Winning the electrical contracts for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the Niagara Falls power plant projects was decisive. Since then, AC electricity has formed the basis of most of the world's power supply systems. The 2019 film 'The Current War' depicts the fierce rivalry between the two sides without any concessions.

Due to the financial crisis originating in the United States in 1907, Westinghouse lost control of his company. He held a total of 361 patents and spent most of his later years in public office before passing away on March 12, 1914, at the age of 67. After his death, Westinghouse Electric expanded its business into defense industries and home appliances. In 1957, it built the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, USA. Since then, it has grown into a nuclear power giant that has constructed more than half of the world's nuclear power plants.