Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-13
GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE,
INVENTOR, SUcCUMBS
Prominent Figure in Engineering
World and Invented the
Airbrake.

Westinsh ouse. a foremost figure in the
| engineering world and inventor of the
airbrake that bears his name. died late
yesterday at his residence here Heart
disease manifested itself about fifteen
months ago and the end came a few
hours after il became publicly known
that Mr.. Westinghouse was seriously
i'll. He was in. his sixty-eighth year
Funeral services will be held Satur-
day.
Mr. Westinghouse provided in his will
for the continuation of his large business
interests under . truste eship.
It was officially stated today that his
death will not cause any change of policy
or operation in connection with any of
the Westinghouse industries. A plan
which long ago he carefully thought out
for their continuance and direction goes
Immediate into effect.
The men chosen To carry out this work
are his brother. Henry Herman Wcsting-
house. who is president of the American
Brake Company and vice president and
general manager of the Westinghouse
Atrbrake Company: Charles \. Terry,
vice president of the Westinghouse Elec-
trio and manufacturing Company, and
w. D. Updegraff. director of the West
inghouSe Airbrahe Company.
To this trusteeship will go the voting
power in all the corporations in which
George Westipg house was interested here
and abroad. The individual wealth and
holdings OF Mr.. Westinghouse have been
estimated at more than SJ0OO0.GOo.
Estate Valued at Millions.
The death of Mr.. Westinghouse will
not cause any change in the plans for
the further development of the great in
terests which bear his name. The direc-
ton of the enterprises for some time has
been in the hands of his brother, H. H.
Westinghouse, who has been associated
with George Westinghouse from the be-
ginning, and who will carry out the
wishes of the late inventor.
The value of the estate left by Mr..
Westinghouse runs into the millions. His
home was in Pittsburgh. but he spent
much time at his Erskine Park estate at
Lenox, which was one of the show places
of the Berkshires. III addition he had
large house in Washington, which how
ever. the family had not occupied for
several years. Arrangements had been
made to reopen it this winter. but Mr..
Westinghouse illness interfered with
the plan.
IF some day they say of me that
with the airbrake I contributed some
thing to civilization. something to the
safety of human life, it will be suffi-
Gent
This statement. uttered by George
y
airbrakes had prevened what might
have been a terrible railroad catastrophe,
is likely to stand as an epltome of the
epitaph by which his memory will live
most wildly in the minds OF future gen
erations For his invention of that Won
derful device. which alone has made
possible the safety of modern high-speed
railroading, has made the name OF west
inghouse synonymous with that OF tne
airbrake. However with the alrbrake
which he gave to the world of human
industry and which has been one of the
foremost factors of modern advance
ment-the Harvesting of the alternating
electric curent-a system which even
Thomas A. Edison denounced bitterly
years ago, and over which the great in
terests of Edison and Westinghouse
waged many battles. And these are out
two of more than 1000 patents winch
George Westinghouse owned, his per-
Combined Rare Qualities.
George Westinghouse was one of those
rare men who combined wonderful in
genius with rare executive ability.
His enterprises-there are score in this
three in Great Britain and
others in Canada, Germany, France and
Russia-afford support to approximately
100000 persons and are capitalized at
almost S15O,O0O.OD. Under the Westing-
house name today are companies for
manufacturing switching and automatic
signaling devices, pneumatic or cleo
trio: electric locomotives. gas engines
machines. tools. steam turbines, lights
and almost every conceivable article
that is needed for the complex indus
trial system of the present. George
Westinghouse was more than a human
dynamo. because a dynamo must be
driven by something, and he drove him
self He was a human power plant-a
living force. As one of his friends has
put it. IF George Westinghouse were
not man he would have been one OF
the mechanical marvels of the world
Inception Of Air Brake.
Born at Central Bridge, Schoharie coun-
ty, N. Y, October 6, 1916. he removed
with his parents ten years later to
Schenectady. One day, as a youngster,
he CHANGED to see collision between two
freight trains. The smash-up was caused
by the tneffectiveness of the hand brakes
then in use. Forthwith he began pom