The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company that was one of the precursors of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

History

The company began as the American Electric Company, founded by

Elihu Thomson Elihu Thomson (March 29, 1853 – March 13, 1937) was an English-American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electricity, electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Early life He ...

and

Edwin Houston Edwin James Houston (July 9, 1847 – March 1, 1914) was an American author, electrical engineer, academic, businessman, and inventor. Early life Houston was born July 9, 1847, to John Mason and Mary (Lamour) Houston in Alexandria, Virginia. He ...

. In 1882,

Charles Albert Coffin Charles Albert Coffin (December 31, 1844 – July 14, 1926) was an American businessman who was the co-founder and first president of General Electric corporation. Early life He was born in Fairfield, Maine, the son of Albert Coffin and his wif ...

led a group of investors—largely shoe manufacturers from

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

—in buying American Electric from investors in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

. They renamed the company Thomson-Houston Electric Company and moved its operations to a new building on Lynn's Western Avenue. Elihu Thomson Papers at the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

Coffin led the company and organized its finances, marketing, and sales operations.

Edwin Rice Edwin Wilbur Rice Jr. (6 May 1862 in La Crosse, Wisconsin – 25 November 1935 in Schenectady, New York) was a president and considered one of the three fathers of General Electric (along with Elihu Thomson and Charles A. Coffin). Early li ...

organized the manufacturing facilities, and Elihu Thomson ran the Model Room, a precursor to the industrial research lab. With their leadership, the company grew into an enterprise with sales of and 4,000 employees by 1892. In 1884, Thomson-Houston International Company was organized to promote international sales. In 1885, the Lynn G.A.R. Hall was constructed using electric incandescent lighting by Thomson-Houston. In 1888, Thomson-Houston supplied the Lynn & Boston Railroad with the generation and propulsion equipment for the Highland Circuit in Lynn,
The Thomson-Houston Road at Lynn, Mass.
', The Electrical World, December 8, 1888 page 303
Electric Railway at Lynn, Mass.
', Electric Power, January, 1889 page 21 the first electric streetcar in Massachusetts. In 1889, Thomson-Houston bought out the Brush Company (founded by

Charles Brush Charles Francis Brush (March 17, 1849June 15, 1929) was an American engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Biography Brush was born in Euclid Township, Ohio, to Isaac Elbert Brush and Delia Williams Phillips. Isaac Brush was a d ...

) which resolved the

arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...

and

dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

patent disputes between them. In 1892, Thomson-Houston was merged with the Edison General Electric Company of

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

(arranged by

John Pierpoint Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

), to form the

Company. The Lynn plant, along with one in Schenectady, remain to this day as the two original GE factories.

International companies

British Thomson-Houston

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufac ...

(BTH) was created as a subsidiary of (American) General Electric in May 1896. It was previously known as Laing, Wharton, and Down which was founded in 1886. BTH became part of

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of British Thomson-Houston (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK ...

(AEI) in 1928, which saw BTH merged with its rival

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

. This deal made AEI the largest military contractor of the British Empire during the 1930s and the 1940s, so during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. AEI would itself be acquired by the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

(GEC) in 1967. GEC demerged its defense businesses in 1999 to become Marconi plc and Marconi Corporation plc, now

Telent Telent Technology Services Limited is a British radio, telecommunications, and digital infrastructure systems installation and services provision company. The name is used from 2006 for those parts of the United Kingdom and German services busin ...

Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston

In 1893, the Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston (CFTH) was formed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, a sister company to GE in the United States. It is from this company that

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

would evolve. A demerger in 1999 formed what is now

Vantiva Vantiva SA (formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, Thomson SA, and Thomson Multimedia) is a French multinational corporation that provides technology products and services for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Headquarter ...

and

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

References and sources

;References ;Sources *Hammond, John Winthrop. ''Men and Volts, the Story of General Electric'' published 1941. 436 pages. *Carlson, W. Bernard. ''Innovation as a Social Process: Elihu Thomson and the Rise of General Electric, 1870-1900'' (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1991). *Woodbury, David O. ''Elihu Thomson, Beloved Scientist'' (

Museum of Science (Boston) The Museum of Science (MoS) is a nature and science museum and indoor zoological establishment located in Science Park, a plot of land in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, spanning the Charles River. Along with over 700 interactive exhibits, t ...

, 1944) *Haney, John L. ''The Elihu Thomson Collection''

Yearbook 1944. {{Authority control 1882 establishments in Massachusetts Energy companies established in 1882 Manufacturing companies established in 1882 American companies established in 1882 1892 mergers and acquisitions 1892 disestablishments in Massachusetts Energy companies disestablished in 1892 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1892 American companies disestablished in 1892 Defunct electronics companies of the United States General Electric subsidiaries Technicolor SA Companies based in Lynn, Massachusetts Defunct manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts