Edison vs. Tesla | Triumph of Illumination
5/20/202643 min
By 1888, the race to power America's cities had become a battle between the rival visions of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. But when the powerful industrialist George Westinghouse threw his weight behind Tesla and his AC system, what had been a personal falling out became something far larger – a war over the future of electricity itself. Their bitter fight spilled into courtrooms, ignited a national debate about capital punishment, and culminated in a fierce competition for the contract to illuminate the most ambitious event of the decade: the Chicago World’s Fair.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLindsay Graham· Host0:00
Hello, American History Teller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you. This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America, and they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows July 4th 1776. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year. But there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to americanhistorylive.com. That's americanhistorylive.com. Come see my Days That Made America Tour live on stage. Go to americanhistorylive.com. [drum rolling] [footsteps thudding] Imagine it's April 17th, 1888 in New York City. You're an editor with a popular tabloid and working on the morning shift in the newsroom. [phone ringing] You've got a break, so you sit down at your desk for a breakfast of lukewarm coffee and a pastrami sandwich. [utensils clanking] As you take your first sip, you hear a knock at your door. [footsteps thudding] A young reporter rushes in. Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I just got tomorrow's front page story. Front page story, huh? Well, I'll be the judge of that, kid. What is it? You know the corner of East Broadway and Catherine Street? Yeah, I know it. I walk past it every morning. Well, last night a boy was playing around a lamppost