Westinghouse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The name Westinghouse can refer to any number of devices and independent businesses that can trace their roots to the work of George Westinghouse:

[edit] People

• George Westinghouse, founder of Westinghouse Electric Corporation

[edit] Places

• George Westinghouse Bridge, which carries US30 (The Lincoln Highway) in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Westinghouse Park, a municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

[edit] Devices

• Westinghouse air brake. Patented by George Westinghouse in 1872.

[edit] Present companies

• Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1998). Founded by trademark-owner CBS Corporation to license the defunct Westinghouse brand to other manufacturers.
• Westinghouse Electric Company. Present day nuclear group, purchased by BNFL from CBS in 1999 and sold to Toshiba in 2006.
• Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd, formerly Westinghouse Signals Ltd, part of Invensys.

[edit] Prior companies

• Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1886). Founded by George Westinghouse in 1886, renamed CBS Corporation in 1997
• British Westinghouse. Founded by George Westinghouse in 1899, sold and renamed Metropolitan Vickers (later subsumed into GEC).
• Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, the defense electronics division of Westinghouse, sold to Northrop Grumman in 1996 (now Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems).
• White-Westinghouse. Manufacturer of home appliances under the Westinghouse name, sold by Westinghouse in 1975 and acquired by Electrolux in 1986.

[edit] Licensees of the modern Westinghouse Electric Corporation

The following companies sell products under the name Westinghouse, having each licensed the name from the modern-day CBS-owned Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1998):

• Westinghouse Digital Electronics, selling LCD televisions and related products
• Westinghouse Lighting Corporation, selling light bulbs, ceiling fans, and lighting fixtures
• Salton, Inc., selling vacuum cleaners
• Linear LLC d/b/a Westinghouse-home.com, selling garage-door openers and wireless intercoms
• The NCC, Inc., selling electrical accessories, small lighting devices, and flashlights
• Nordyne d/b/a Westinghouse Heating and Cooling, selling HVAC systems
• International Development Corporation d/b/a Westinghouse Solar Lights, selling solar lighting

[edit] Use in Language

The term "to be Westinghoused", meaning to be electrocuted, gained currency at the end of the 19th Century through the efforts of Thomas Edison and others to smear alternating current with a reputation for being dangerous.