Westinghouse, George

Westinghouse, George (1846-1914), American inventor, engineer, and industrialist. Westinghouse was born in Central Bridge, New York, and educated at what is now Union College and University at Schenectady, New York. His first important invention, developed while he was employed in his father's factory in Schenectady, was a so-called railway frog, a device permitting trains to cross from one track to another. He devised his most famous invention, the air brake, in about 1868. Although successfully demonstrated in 1868, the air brake did not become standard equipment until after the passage of the United States Railroad Safety Appliance Act in 1893. Westinghouse invented many other safety devices, especially for automatic railway signalling; developed a system for transporting natural gas; and acquired more than 400 patents, including many for alternating-current machinery. With Charles Steinmetz, he pioneered the use of alternating-current power in the United States.