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Tesla Comes To America
Nikola Tesla first arrives to America to work for Edison. -
Death By Wire
Poor boy streiffer got hold of a dangling telephone wire, and was electrocuted when a blizzard earlier that month had knocked down several poles. Along with the boy came a lineman who was also electrocuted not long after. -
Westinghouse's Letter
Westinghouse sent a letter to Edison asking for a visit to Philidelphia, and even suggested a merger between Edison Electric Company and Westinghouse Electric Company.
Edison responded with another letter writing, "My laboratory work consumes the whole part of my time and precludes my participation in directing the business policy...Thanking you for your kind invitation to visit Pittsburgh." -
Westinghouse's Second Letter
Westinghouse sent a second letter with a more direct tone including a "memorandum that Edison had sent to his company."
Edison, responding with the same tone wrote back with, "If the Westinghouse Company, as they claim, have a system so superior and so much cheaper than Edison, and if, as they pretend, the Edison Company's patents are valueless, why do they desire to bring about a combination with the Edison Company?" -
Electrocuting Animals
On July 30, 1888, seventy-five electricians were invited to attend a demonstration by Professor Thomas Chandler at Columbia College School of Mines. There Harold P. Brown displayed the affects of 1,410 volts of DC on dogs, versus the affect of 500 and 800 volts of AC on dogs, killing many in the process. -
First Electrocution
Criminal William Kemmler is the first to be executed via electric chair. -
The Columbian Exposition
General Electric (a combination of Thomson-Houston Electric Company, and Edison Electric Company) and Westinghouse Electric each displayed their capabilities with Westinghouse lighting up the "White City" and General Electric's "The Tower of Light." The lighting of the "White City" by Westinghouse Electric stole show, displaying the first victory for the AC system. -
The Compromise
Because of lawsuits between the two companies claiming that each were infringing on the patents of the other, General Electric and Westinghouse Electric agreed on a patent-sharing agreement. This shows the first compromise between AC and DC, with both companies working in parallel. -
The Niagara Falls Project
After implementing Tesla's polyphase AC induction motors, and General Electric setting up their transformers and power lines to Buffalo, New York, the city finally receives power from Niagara Falls. -
Topsy's Execution
"Topsy" the Elephant is electrocuted as a last stand by Edison against DC in Coney Island for the opening of Luna Park.
