George Westinghouse Jr.

Hello! My name is George Westinghouse. I was born a long, long time ago, in the year 1846. When I was a little boy, my favorite place was my dad's workshop. I loved watching all the machines whir and clank! I would take things apart and put them back together to see how they worked. I always knew I wanted to invent things that could help people.

One of my first big ideas was for trains. Around the year 1869, I invented a special brake that used air to stop all the train cars at once. Whoosh! It was much safer for everyone. Now, long trains could stop safely without bumping into each other. Traveling by train became a much safer adventure for families to enjoy.

Next, I had another bright idea—about electricity! I wanted everyone to have lights in their homes, not just a few people. My idea used a special kind of electricity that could travel super, super far through wires. In the year 1895, we even used the power of the giant Niagara Falls waterfall to make electricity and send it to light up a whole city! It was so exciting to see everything glow.

I spent my life creating and inventing. I started more than 60 companies to make all my ideas come to life! I lived to be 67 years old and passed away in the year 1914. Today, when you flip a switch and a light turns on, you are using the kind of electricity I helped bring to the world. My ideas are still at work, making our world a brighter place.