General Electric
Formed through the J.P. Morgan-orchestrated merger of Edison General Electric and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company.
Founded1892
HeadquartersSchenectady, NY
IndustryIndustrial / Electrical
Thomas Edison, 1922 — portrait by Louis Bachrach · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Overview
GE became the archetypal American industrial conglomerate, electrifying the nation.
Founders
Thomas Edison, Charles Coffin and J.P. Morgan (financier)
Formed April 15, 1892
Landmark Achievements
- Built on Thomas Edison's lighting patents and Elihu Thomson's AC systems, helping resolve the “war of the currents” and enabling mass electrification.
- One of the 12 original companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (1896) and the only one to remain a component for over a century.
- Pioneered industrial research at the GE Research Laboratory, producing advances in lighting, X-ray, jet engines, and plastics.
General Electric's place in the story
Continue through the chronicle — the builders of American technology, in founding order.