Henry Villard, a German immigrant and self-made financier, purchased and merged the various Edison enterprise giving the inventor cash and stock and putting him on the board of directors as the new enterprise which was name the Edison General Electric Company.
The several Edison companies and the Sprague Electric Railway Company merged, incorporating officially in January 1889, to become Edison General Electric. It was formed to consolidated the separate but interlocking electrical companies controlled by Thomas A. Edison.
By 1890, Edison organized his various businesses into the Edison General Electric Company.
Another company the Thompson-Houston Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts, acquired seven competitors between 1888 and 1890 and emerged with the majority of the arc lighting business, a clutch of key patents, and a large pool of skilled personnel.
Thomson-Houston Company was the chief competitors to the Edison General Electric Company. It was formed in 1883 and became a dominant electrical innovation company through a series of mergers led by Charles A. Coffin, a former shoe manufacturer from Lyn.
Thus in 1890 there were three large corporations in the electrical industry: Edison General Electric, Westinghouse and Thompson-Houston.
In 1892, as a result of a merger of the Edison General Electric Company and the Thomas-Houston Electric Company, General Electric Company was established.
The first General Electric plaices electric fans were produced at the Ft. Wayne electric works as early as the 189s, while a full line of heating and cooking devices were developed in 1907. The General Electric company become the world’s largest diversified manufacturer.
Early history of General Electric Company
