The General Electric Company, established in 1892 by Thomas Edison, changed the way people lived in the United States with its many different inventions.
Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb in 1879. The stock of his company, Edison Electric Light Company, skyrocketed, and, in 1892, the company merged with Thomson-Houston to form the General Electric Company (GE). The invention of the light bulb popularized the use of electricity, and by the turn of the 20th century, the industry was growing at an extremely rapid rate. GE immediately capitalized on this growing market by inventing household appliances, including the first portable fans, electric washing machines, and radios. Through the first part of the 20th century, GE moved into plastics and locomotives, and began the first television network, which later became NBC. GE quickly became one of the largest companies in the United States.
By the 1940s, GE’s importance was evident. The company developed the first jet engines for the U. S. military. Radar, first developed in 1935, was now used effectively in
World War II, providing assistance in both bombing and antiaircraft efforts. Radar also detected the enemy from long distances away. These advancements put the United States far ahead of any other country in military and conventional technology.
GE’s contributions continued through the 1950s. In 1951, the company developed the J79, its most famous jet engine. This model became the first commercial jet engine, which powered the world’s fastest jet transports. The J79 formed the basis for the J93 engine, released in 1959, which was capable of traveling at three times the speed of sound. GE won a U. S. Air Force contract to produce the J93. It also continued work on the electric light, introducing an all-weather headlight that was mass-produced, and sold to car and locomotive companies. This one invention aided travel for millions of Americans, and it improved automobile safety.
The 1960s brought more inventions and innovations from General Electric. On the home appliance front, the company produced refrigerators, blenders, and many other kitchen aids. It sold the first self-cleaning oven to the public in 1963. GE also helped the fast-food industry take off, by inventing an oven that could reheat frozen food to table temperature in under a minute. General Electric was a household name and it continued to remain in the spotlight. In 1962, Bob Hall, a GE engineer, invented the first solid-state laser, later used in compact disc players and laser printers. By the close of the 1960s, General Electric owned several companies in such fields as appliances, aircraft, railways, plastics, electricity, and medical equipment, and it constituted one of the major corporations in the United States.
Further reading: James Cox, A Century of Light (New York: A Benjamin Company/Rutledge Book, 1979).
—Matthew Escovar
World History
