Lindsey Graham

Is that so?

Yeah.

He's working up a proposal as we speak.

Maybe Westinghouse isn't Edison, but he is a genius businessman.

And he's partnering with smart investors who know what they're doing.

I'm telling you, Westinghouse and his boys are the future.

Well, I suppose there's going to be an economic benefit for us, too.

Hmm.

Hmm.

You turn from your friend and stare back at the department store, its lights casting a golden glow on the crowd all around you.

You've never seen such a beautiful sight.

Whoever's behind it has a bright future.

Maybe you do as well.

From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers.

Our history, your stories.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, 1886, residents of Buffalo, New York, were amazed to see a new and glorious sight downtown, their business district lit up with electric light.

Many assumed it was the work of Thomas Edison, the famous inventor who had become synonymous with electrical innovation and technology.

But Buffalo's illumination was instead the latest project of George Westinghouse, a prominent industrialist known for his aggressive business style and technological know-how.

After Edison introduced his incandescent light in 1879, he and his investors dominated the fast-growing electric market.

But competitors soon rushed in, and among them was the hard-charging Westinghouse, who founded Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company to begin installing lighting systems to rival Edison's.