George Westinghouse Jr.
George Westinghouse (1846-1914) was one of the great inventors of the 19th century. He also created life-saving electrical signals for railroads that kept two trains from occupying the same "block" of track, a rotary steam engine and devices for transporting natural gas. His biggest gift to the railroad was the 1872 patent No. 124,405 for the automatic railroad air brake.
Read more about Westinghouse's revolutionary air brake patent »
Westinghouse bought Nikola Tesla's patents for alternating current, electrified hundreds of towns and demonstrated the superiority of AC over the direct current favored by Thomas Edison.
And, of course, Westinghouse founded the company that bears his name.