General Electric

General Electric

General Electric was established back in 1878 by Thomas Edison who called the company Edison Electric Light Company. In that same year, the company merged with Thomas-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric and they started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Although at this point they had made huge strides in electricity based technologies in America, Edison was forced to resign after increasing pressure from the government and the public. He remained as a consultant for the company until his death. General Electric’s first industrial laboratory was established in the U.S. at the start of the 20th century and there they began manufacturing everything involved with electricity which included generators, transmission equipment, electric motors, light bulbs, and locomotives.

In 1903, General Electric bought Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company which manufactured transformers. The electric range was the first major appliance introduced by GE in 1906. In 1924, following World War II, General Electric exited the utility business after government anti- trust laws were passed. 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, the government labled them as “too big to fail”. In 1961 they were fined $500,000 for price fixing electrical equipment. In 1976, General Electric bought 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 , the owner of NBC and...