Inventor of the Week Archive for a different Invention or
Inventor GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE, JR. (1846-1914) Compressed-air
brake system George Westinghouse was a visionary of technology
and business, whose ideas transformed the safety and services of
the American railroad and electricity industries. Born in
Central Bridge, New York, in 1846, Westinghouse moved with his
family to nearby Schenectady when he was ten. At his father's
machinery shop, the young Westinghouse learned to work with
steam engines and other machines. At the age of fifteen,
Westinghouse began service with the Union Army, which continued
through the Civil War (1861-65). Looking back later,
Westinghouse would claim that his apprenticeship and his
military service were the "greatest capital" with which he
developed his various enterprises. After the War, Westinghouse
enrolled at Union College, but soon left to rejoin his father's
business. Westinghouse began a prolific career of inventing
(over 300 inventions), with a patented rotary steam engin