The Westinghouse Works (1904)

Apr 30, 2015



These films are part of the Westinghouse Works Collection which contains 21 films depicting various views of the Westinghouse companies. Founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse, the Westinghouse Electric Company (later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation) produced turbines and coils for electricity while also being the rivaling company of Thomas Edison's General Electric. Notable workers included inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla and Bertha Lamme, who started working for Westinghouse in 1893 after being the first woman to receive a degree in engineering from the Ohio State University. The films, which were made for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904 feature footage from the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Machine Company, showing both male and female workers. It was common for female workers to be unmarried, and when Bertha Lamme married her supervisor Russell Feicht in 1905, she was forced to retire since company policy forbade them from working together.