General Electric History

Keith Eisenberg History of General Electric

General Electric was established back in 1878 by Thomas Edison who called the company Edison Electric Light Company. That same year, the company merged with Thomas-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric and they started trading on the NYSE. Although at this point they had made huge strides in electricity based technologies, Edison was forced to resign after increasing pressure from the government as well as the public. He remained as a consultant for the company until is death. Their first industrial laboratory was established in the U.S. at the start of the 20th century and GE began manufacturing everything involved with electricity which included generators, transmission equipment, electric motors, light bulbs, and locomotives. In 1903, General Electric acquired Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company which manufactured transformers. GE’s first major appliance introduced in 1906 was the electric range. In 1924, General Electric exited the utility business after government anti- trust laws were passed following World War II. GE expanded in 1943 to form General Electric Capital Corporation. In 1955, the United States Navy launched the submarine Seawolf which was powered by a General Electric nuclear reactor. In Louisville, Kentucky, GE received a license to operate nuclear power plants to complete Appliance Park during 1957. The company received constant government pressure dating back to their initial establishment due to their size (“too big to fail”). In 1961 they were fined $500,000 for price fixing electrical equipment. In 1976, General Electric acquired Utah International which was a major supplier of coal, copper, uranium, coal, and natural gas and oil. In 1981, GE started going through rapid business changes after Jack Welch Jr. became chairman and CEO of the company. In 1986, they continued to expand by acquiring RCA (owner of NBC and Employers Reinsurance) for $7.5 billion. That same year they...