War of the Currents
After leaving Budapest, Tesla briefly visited Paris before embarking on a cross-Atlantic voyage to America. He arrived in New York in 1884 and set out to work for the world famous inventor, Thomas Edison. Edison hired him despite being an advocate of DC power.
“Hold up! Spare me that nonsense. It’s dangerous. We’re set up for direct current in America. People like it, and it’s all I’ll ever fool with. But maybe I could give you a job.”
–Thomas Edison,
after hearing Tesla’s ideas about AC current 1
Eventually, a rift grew between them and Tesla quit to set up his own lab. After presenting his plans for an AC motor to a multitude of investors, Tesla finally found backing in George Westinghouse. To fund his own lab, Tesla sold his AC patents to Westinghouse in 1887 in exchange for $75,000 and a $2.50 royalty per watt on all AC motors Westinghouse built.2
“George Westinghouse was, in my opinion, the only man on this globe who could take my alternating-current system under the circumstances then existing and win the battle against prejudice and money power. He was a pioneer of imposing stature, one of the world's true noblemen of whom America may well be proud and to whom humanity owes an immense debt of gratitude.”
–Nikola Tesla
Westinghouse’s AC systems and Edison’s DC systems battled for consumers from 1887-1895. Edison, in an effort to win the market, publicly electrocuted animals to exhibit the danger of AC power.3
"I remember Tom [Edison] telling them that direct current was like a river flowing peacefully to the sea, while alternating current was like a torrent rushing violently over a precipice. Imagine that! Why they even had a professor named Harold Brown who went around talking to audiences... and electrocuting dogs and old horses right on stage, to show how dangerous alternating current was.”
–George Westinghouse
Westinghouse won his first great victory with the commission to provide electricity for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. He installed ten 1,000 HP AC generation units in the Fair’s Hall of Machinery. Tesla demonstrated his AC power generation and transmission systems in the Hall of Electricity .4
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"Court of Honor" at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893. The age of light that Tesla did so much to bring about was exemplified in this scene. At nightfall, "stopper" (or Sawyer-Man) lamps by Westinghouse provided the most spectacular lighting display the world had ever seen.5 -PBS.org |
The second great victory came in 1895 when Westinghouse was awarded the contract to install generators at Niagara Falls. Westinghouse installed two 1,000 HP generators using nine of Tesla’s patents. The War of the Currents was over and AC power had triumphed.6 |
 Manufacturing Plate on the Niagara Generators 9 of the 13 patents are Tesla's. |
Despite success, Westinghouse was plagued with financial troubles. In an effort to preserve the company,Tesla tore up his royalty contract. This move saved Westinghouse, but would plunge Tesla into financial difficulties for the rest of his life.7
