General Electric formed by the Thomson-Houston and Edison merger
- When
- 1892
- Where
- Schenectady, New York
- Episodes
- 1
General Electric was established in 1892 through the merger of Thomas Edison's Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. This consolidation was orchestrated by financier J. P. Morgan, with Schenectady, New York, serving as the headquarters for the new entity.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The merger combined Edison General Electric, incorporated in New York in 1889, with Thomson-Houston, which had grown to 4,000 employees by 1892. The consolidation was supported by Drexel, Morgan & Co. and did not include all Edison companies, such as the Edison Illuminating Company.
Merger. A deal arranged by financier John Pierpoint Morgan merged Thomson-Houston with Edison General Electric to form General Electric. The new business was incorporated in New York, with the Schenectady plant used as headquarters for many years thereafter.
Participants. Charles Coffin led Thomson-Houston, which was founded as the American Electric Company. Thomas Edison owned Edison General Electric, which was formed by merging several separate companies. J. P. Morgan orchestrated the consolidation.
People involved
- Charles Coffin · Leader of Thomson-Houston Electric Company
- J. P. Morgan · Financier who orchestrated the merger
- Thomas Edison · Owner of Edison General Electric Company
Sources
- General Electric Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-09
- Schenectady, New York Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-30
- Thomson-Houston Electric Company Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-08
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.