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Home , Graham Moore (writer), Old Sparky, Reginald Fessenden, The Current War, War of the currents

FEATURE CLE: THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT

CLE Credit: 1.0 Thursday, June 14, 2018 1:25 p.m. - 2:25 p.m. Heritage East and Center Lexington Convention Center Lexington,

A NOTE CONCERNING THE PROGRAM MATERIALS

The materials included in this Kentucky Bar Association Continuing Legal Education handbook are intended to provide current and accurate information about the subject matter covered. No representation or warranty is made concerning the application of the legal or other principles discussed by the instructors to any specific fact situation, nor is any prediction made concerning how any particular judge or jury will interpret or apply such principles. The proper interpretation or application of the principles discussed is a matter for the considered judgment of the individual legal practitioner. The faculty and staff of this Kentucky Bar Association CLE program disclaim liability therefore. Attorneys using these materials, or information otherwise conveyed during the program, in dealing with a specific legal matter have a duty to research original and current sources of authority.

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Kentucky Bar Association TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Presenter ...... i

The : Examining the History Behind The Last Days of Night ...... 1

AC/DC: The Two Currents that Power the World ...... 1

The Wizard Invents a New Technical Standard ...... 2

Nikola and ...... 5

Dead Dogs and Old Sparky ...... 7

Alternating Current Pulls Ahead in the Race to Light the World ...... 9

Alternating Current Wins the Battle ...... 12

The Last Days of Night Historical Timeline ...... 15

THE PRESENTER

Graham Moore Los Angeles,

GRAHAM MOORE is a Times bestselling novelist and Academy Award- winning screenwriter. His screenplay for won the Academy Award and WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2015 and was nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. The film, directed by and starring and Keira Knightley, received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.

Mr. Moore's first novel, The Sherlockian (2010), was published in 16 countries and translated into 13 languages. Among other complementary things, it was called "sublime," "clever" and "delightful" by , and "savvy" and "entertaining" by the Los Angeles Times. His second novel, The Last Days of Night, was published in August, 2016, by Random House and described as "a fascinating portrait of American inventors" by Entertainment Weekly and "a model of superior historical fiction" as well as a "brilliant journey into the past" by the Washington Post. Mr. Moore lives in Los Angeles.

i

ii THE WAR OF THE CURRENTS: EXAMINING THE HISTORY BEHIND THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT Lori J. Alvey

Graham Moore's novel, The Last Days of Night, begins in 1888 and describes the battle between and George Westinghouse to establish and control a new standard for electric power in the United States. The story is told from the perspective of Westinghouse's newly-hired attorney, 26-year old Paul Cravath,1 fresh from Columbia Law School2 and completely in over his head defending Westinghouse against Edison's patent infringement claim. The Last Days of Night is a work of historical fiction, and Moore notes at the end of his novel that the story's timeline is compressed into two years, from 1888 to 1890.3 The actual "current war" took place between 1888 and 1896,4 and what follows in this paper is a brief summary of the main historical events underlying Moore's novel. Also included is a timeline taken from Moore's website that compares how the events in the novel correspond to historical events.5

AC/DC: The Two Currents that Power the World

Most matter contains a balance of positive and negative charges, a stalemated tug-of-war that prevents from manifesting itself. Only when these charges are out of balance do electrons move to restore the equilibrium, allowing electricity to show its face. . . . Electrical current is the flow of negatively charged electrons from one place to another in order to restore the natural balance of charge.6

In an alternating current (AC) circuit, the current alternates directions, "flipping back and forth through the wire dozens of times per second."7 AC is the type of electricity that comes out of your wall outlet, and it powers all of our major appliances, light fixtures, traffic signals, etc. "The 120 volts of electrical pressure that come out of an AC wall outlet are more than sufficient to kill a human being under the right circumstances."8 In

1 Moore, Graham, The Last Days of Night, (New York: Random House, 2016), at 3.

2 Id. at 17.

3 Id. at 359.

4 Id.

5 The full timeline is available at https://mrgrahammoore.com/books/the-last-days-of- night/historical-timeline/. As Mr. Moore states, "Please note: 'Historical spoilers' abound, so don't read this until you've finished the book!"

6 McNichol, Tom, AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War, (San Francisco: Jossey- Bass, 2006), at 5.

7 Id. at 3.

8 Id.

1 2016, electric shock was the sixth leading cause of occupational death in the U.S.9 Alternatively, (DC) "moves only in one direction, from the positive to negative terminal."10 DC powers car batteries, cell phones, laptops, cameras, iPods, and is "also utterly essential to contemporary life."11 :

pitted Thomas Edison and his tried-and-true technology of DC . . . against Westinghouse and Tesla's new and experimental AC. . . It is the archetypal corporate struggle, a modern industrial epic where American business titans battled to dominate and control a world-changing technology, to create whole new Empires of Light.12

The Wizard Invents a New Technical Standard

In 1869, after spending his early professional years as an apprentice telegrapher,13 Thomas Edison announced to the world via publication in a trade journal that he was devoting "'his full time to bringing out his own inventions.'"14 "He was granted 38 patents in 1872 and another 25 the following year, many of them having to do with improvements in the telegraph."15 In 1876, Edison built a laboratory in Menlo Park, to work on his inventions. The laboratory "could be considered the first modern research and development center in the world."16 "There Edison planned to develop 'a minor invention every ten days and a big thing every six months or so.'"17 After he invented the in 1877,18 "[t]he press dubbed him 'The Wizard of Menlo Park.'"19

Edison became focused on inventing a new lightbulb after witnessing the arc lights installed in John Wanamaker's department store in 1878.20 "Arc lamps were the

9 Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), "Workplace Fatalities and Injuries 2003-2016," available at https://www.esfi.org/resource/workplace-fatalities-and-injuries-2003-2016-644. Last accessed May 23, 2018.

10 AC/DC, at 3.

11 Id. at 4.

12 Jill Jonnes, Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, (New York: Random House, 2003), at xiv.

13 AC/DC, at 32.

14 Empires of Light, at 35.

15 AC/DC, at 36.

16 Id. at 37.

17 Empires of Light at 52.

18 AC/DC at 37.

19 Id. at 39.

20 Id. at 41.

2 predecessors of incandescent lights, producing illumination by sparking (or arcing) of high current between two carbon electrodes."21 Although the lamps were smoky and unreliable, they were "the state of the art in electric lighting at the time."22 Edison sought to create a new incandescent lamp and an electrical system that would power them along with other future electrical inventions.23 He viewed the companies, which dominated the lighting market, as his main competitors.24 In 1875, there were over 400 gas lighting companies in the U.S.25 "To build a successful rival to gas, Edison would have to come up with a way to 'subdivide' direct current to power individual lamps, just as the gas companies apportioned small units of natural gas to customers."26 He quickly created a prototype bulb with a filament made of platinum that would burn for a mere ten minutes before going out.27 Nevertheless, on September 16, 1878, Edison proclaimed via an announcement in the New York Sun that he had discovered a system for providing "cheap light, heat, and power by electricity."28 The Edison Electric Light Company was established on October 16, 1878, with 3,000 shares of stock.29 "Edison was assigned 2,500 shares worth $250,000 for his electric light patents – those pending and in the future – leaving 500 shares worth $50,000" for the initial investors.30

After experiencing problems with the platinum filament in his initial lamp,31 Edison began experimenting with different materials to find the proper filament. "About 1,600 different materials were tested until Edison finally hit upon an unlikely winner – a strand of ordinary cotton thread" he baked in a high heat oven until it carbonized.32 He tested this filament extensively on October 21-22, 1879.33

The carbonized piece of ordinary thread tested on lamp number 9 glowed to incandescence for 13½ hours before breaking, by far the longest-

21 Id.

22 Id. at 42.

23 Id. at 43.

24 Id.

25 Empires of Light at 45.

26 AC/DC at 43.

27 Id. at 44.

28 Empires of Light at 55.

29 Id. at 57.

30 Id.

31 AC/DC at 49-50.

32 Id. at 51.

33 Id.

3 lasting filament Edison produced. Eventually, Edison found an even more durable material: a tough paper known as Bristol cardboard.34

On November 1, 1878, "Edison executed a patent for a carbon filament lamp, which was granted as U.S. patent number 223,898. . . . It wasn't the first electric light, or even the first incandescent lamp. It was, however, the first practical long-lasting incandescent bulb, the dawn of the age of electric light."35

In addition to the incandescent lamps, "Edison and his team would have to invent a complex system of interlocking technologies" to complement it, including "switches, meters, sockets, fixtures, regulators, underground conductors, junction boxes, and most important, a central station to generate DC power and a distribution network to deliver it."36 Edison chose to supply his lamps with 110 volts of electricity; the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Japan still operate on a 110-120 volt electrical system today.37 He eventually settled on carbonized bamboo as the filament for his lamps.38 He also built a large working model electrical distribution system on the grounds of the laboratory at Menlo Park.39 For safety reasons, he chose to run the electrical lines underground rather than using the overhead poles already used for telegraph and wires.40 The public unveiling at Menlo Park took place on December 31, 1879.41 The New York Herald described the scene, writing "The laboratory was brilliantly illuminated with twenty-five electric lamps, the office and counting room with eight, and twenty others were distributed in the street leading to the depot and in some adjoining houses."42 "The triumphant display of the new electric light impressed the New York investors sufficiently that they parted with a further $57,568 to underwrite Edison's next phase."43

Edison's next step was building an electrical in New York City. He purchased 255-257 Pearl Street in lower Manhattan in August 1881.44 The Edison system at Pearl Street made its debut on September 4, 1882, "sending 110 volts of direct current flashing through the underground wires to the fifty-nine customers Edison

34 Id. at 52.

35 Id.

36 Id. at 56.

37 Id. at 51.

38 Empires of Light at 71.

39 AC/DC at 56.

40 Id. at 57.

41 Empires of Light at 65.

42 Id. at 66.

43 Id.

44 AC/DC at 60.

4 had managed to sign up by opening day."45 J.P. Morgan's mansion was the first private home in New York City to be "illuminated solely by electricity,"46 which required installing an entire small electrical plant on his estate.47 It took the three years to turn a profit.48 "By 1884, there were eighteen central stations on the Edison system, producing DC power for cities including , Boston, Philadelphia, and New Orleans."49

Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse

In 1884, , a Serbian electrician, arrived in the U.S. and began working for Edison in New York.50 He had previously worked with the Continental Edison company in France.51 Before traveling to the U.S., Tesla had designed an AC , which "operated without any moving electrical contacts, driven instead by an invisible magnetic field."52 "Tesla's AC induction motor represented a more direct application of electrical energy to spin a rotor. . . By rapidly changing the , the Tesla motor could be spun in one direction, stopped on a dime, and rotated the other way just as quickly."53 The motor became known as the "Tesla polyphase system" because "it employed multiple currents, each out of phase, or step, with the other."54 Tesla approached Edison regarding a switch to AC, noting "a central station based on alternating current could liberate electricity from the one-mile shackle of Edison's DC plant."55 However, Edison refused to consider AC, labeling it "far too dangerous for domestic use."56

Edison took enormous and justifiable pride in having invented. . . every aspect of his low-voltage electrical system. A person touching any part of Edison's DC system – from the to the wires to the bulbs – would receive only a mild shock. He wanted nothing to do with AC.57

45 Id. at 61-62.

46 Empires of Light at 5.

47 AC/DC at 65.

48 Id.

49 Id. at 67.

50 Id. at 69.

51 Id.

52 Id. at 75.

53 Id.

54 Id. at 82.

55 Empires of Light at 107.

56 Id.

57 Id.

5 Tesla quit working for Edison in spring 1885 and began to look for potential investors for his AC induction motor.58 That is how he met George Westinghouse.

Westinghouse was a -based inventor whose most famous invention was the railroad air brake, which he created in 1868.59 He became focused on electricity after witnessing the debut of Edison's incandescent lamp at Menlo Park.60 The Westinghouse Electric Company was formed in December 1885.61 "The main assets of the company were twenty-seven patents relating to electricity that Westinghouse had bought up."62 Because Edison owned all the best patents in the DC market, Westinghouse focused on alternating current.63 Unlike DC, which could not be transmitted "much more over a mile from the central station without losing power,"64 AC could travel great distances thanks to a .

With the transformer, alternating current could be easily increased or "stepped up" to a higher voltage, which could travel through wire more easily. Consequently, high-voltage AC could be transmitted longer distances along thinner, cheaper copper wire, with the voltage then "stepped down" for use in homes and offices.65

Westinghouse purchased the best AC patents, including the Gualard-Gibbs system used in Europe, which included the transformer necessary for long distance transmission.66

After just one year in business, Westinghouse had constructed or contracted to build 68 AC central stations.67 Thomson-Houston, a competing company that started out in arc lighting, also began installing AC central stations using Westinghouse and had already constructed or contracted to build 22 stations.68 After Westinghouse filed an infringement suit, Thomson-Houston agreed to pay a $2-per-horsepower royalty on each transformer it produced.69 Meanwhile, by the end of 1887, Edison had built or had under

58 AC/DC at 77-78.

59 Id. at 78-79.

60 Id.

61 Id.

62 Id.

63 Id. at 80.

64 Id.

65 Id.

66 Id. at 81.

67 Empires of Light at 144.

68 Id.

69 Id. at 158.

6 contract 121 DC central stations.70 Keenly aware of the competition, Edison had already published a pamphlet in 1886 threatening legal action against patent infringers which also described the "'greatly enhanced risks to life and property'" from the use of AC.71 In February 1888, the Edison Electric Light Company published an 84-page "WARNING!" regarding the use of AC and its dangers.72 "The Edison people warned that if a transformer failed to step down the current, the whole building served would be a possible death chamber reverberating with high-voltage electricity."73 In addition, "Edison suggested the AC people were criminally indifferent to safety just to save a buck and get ahead."74

After attending a lecture given by Tesla at , Westinghouse bought the rights to Tesla's patents in the polyphase system "for $70,000 plus a royalty of $2.50 per horsepower for each Tesla motor."75 In July 1888, Tesla moved from New York to Pittsburgh to work for Westinghouse as a consultant. "By bestowing his new all- important AC induction motor upon George Westinghouse's rapidly expanding electrical empire, Tesla was eliminating the one great remaining advantage of Edison's DC system."

The War of the Electric Currents had begun.

Dead Dogs and Old Sparky

In 1886, the New York State Legislature formed a commission to find a more humane alternative to as a means of executing state prisoners sentenced to death.76 In November 1887, a commission member contacted Edison seeking his opinion regarding the use of as a means of execution and the strength of current necessary to produce certain death.77 Edison initially declined to become involved because he was opposed to .78 However, in December 1887, Edison contacted the commission and told them the "quickest and most painless death" could be accomplished using electricity.79 He also informed them "the most suitable apparatus for the purpose is that class of dynamo-electric machine which employs intermittent currents," the most effective of which were "manufactured principally. . . by Geo.

70 Id.

71 AC/DC at 84-85.

72 Empires of Light at 150.

73 Id. at 152.

74 Id.

75 Id. at 83.

76 AC/DC at 96; Empires of Light at 148.

77 Empires of Light at 148.

78 Id. at 149

79 Id.

7 Westinghouse."80 On June 4, 1888, the New York State Legislature established electrocution as the new preferred method of capital punishment beginning on January 1, 1889.81 The legislature directed an expert panel to examine the best way to implement the new law.82

At the same time, Harold Brown, who described himself with the newly coined term "electrical engineer,"83 began speaking out against the dangers of AC. "Brown's entire career had been built on selling and servicing direct current systems, and he minced no words in describing the rival AC standard."84 He recommended limiting the alternating current in New York to 300 volts,85 which "would require three times more copper wire to carry, effectively pricing AC out of the market."86 Brown also recommended a series of experiments that compared the dangers of AC to those of DC through the electrocution of dogs.87 While Brown claimed he was never employed by Edison,88 "it's clear he received significant support from the inventor, in both money and access to [his] lab's equipment and expertise."89 "Before he was finished, Brown experimented on forty-four dogs at the Edison lab, torturing them all and killing all but a handful. [He] showed no remorse over the suffering he inflicted, nor any scruples about interpreting the results."90 "Brown learned he could kill a dog with only 300 volts of AC, but with DC he needed 1,000 volts."91

Following a public display in December 1888 in which Brown killed two calves and a horse with alternating current,92 the New York Medico-Legal Society "unanimously adopted the electrocution committee's proposal of 'death by alternating current' and its recommendation that the criminal be executed. . . 'in a chair especially constructed for the purpose.'"93 What the group did not consider, however, was that "Brown's

80 Id.

81 AC/DC at 96; Empires of Light at 150.

82 AC/DC at 96.

83 Id. at 88.

84 Id. at 89.

85 Id.

86 Id. at 90.

87 Id. 90-92.

88 Id. at 91.

89 Id. at 91.

90 Id. at 102.

91 Empires of Light at 173.

92 Id. at 176.

93 Id. at 177.

8 experiments. . . were far too crude to have supplied meaningful data about the lethality of electricity. As it turns out, voltage isn't the only factor in a current's deadliness; the current's frequency, duration, and rate of flow also play key roles."94 These issues would come to the forefront during New York's botched first execution using the .

A jury convicted William Kemmler of murdering his wife with a hatchet on May 10, 1889, and the judge sentenced him to die by electricity.95 Kemmler's attorney appealed the sentence "arguing death by electricity would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment."96 George Westinghouse paid the attorney's estimated $100,000 fee.97 Kemmler's attorney argued "electricity was far too unpredictable to be a reliable or humane means of execution."98 The court denied Kemmler's appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed.99 Kemmler's execution was scheduled for August 6, 1890.100 While the Westinghouse companies refused to do business with Harold Brown or the prisons, Brown purchased three Westinghouse AC generators through a third party that he had shipped to New York.101 The execution did not go as planned. Kemmler had to be shocked twice before he died, and the chair essentially cooked him. "Blood began to appear on Kemmler's face like crimson sweat, and smoke rose from the top of his head. The skin and hair beneath the electrodes began to sizzle as the sickening odor of burning flesh filled the room."102 Despite this atrocious scene, "the electric chair became to be considered an acceptable and even humane means of carrying out death sentences."103 New York used the electric chair for 72 years, killing 695 people.104

Alternating Current Pulls Ahead in the Race to Light the World

Despite all the negative press it was receiving, AC power and George Westinghouse were winning the current war. "In October 1888 alone, Westinghouse received orders to power 45,000 lights on the AC system, about what the Edison companies had sold for the entire year on the DC system."105 "In four short years, since it was established in

94 AC/DC at 110.

95 Empires of Light at 187.

96 AC/DC at 121.

97 Id.

98 Id. at 122.

99 In re Kemmler, 10 S.Ct. 930 (1890).

100 AC/DC at 124.

101 Id. at 115-116.

102 Id. at 125.

103 Id. at 126.

104 Id.

105 Id. at 114.

9 early 1886 as George Westinghouse's fifth industrial enterprise, total annual sales at the Westinghouse Electric Company had soared from $150,000 to more than $4 million."106 However, despite this success, the Westinghouse companies were having problems raising new capital. "All told, his eight companies were worth $23 million and earned $16.5 million, of which an impressive $4.2 million was profit. The bonded debt was just over $1 million. Accounts receivable, however, stood at more than $6 million and materials on hand were an unproductive $2.5 million."107 In order to shore up the company, Westinghouse convinced Tesla to repudiate his contract and give up his patent royalty payments.108

Edison, meanwhile, was facing difficulties at his own company. In 1889, his lamp works in New Jersey and his machine shop in New York consolidated to become the Edison Company.109 "Although Edison was the public face of the company, he owned only about 10 percent of the firm's stock. The rest was controlled by Wall Street Bankers..."110 In April 1892, Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston merged to form the General Electric Company.111

At the time of the deal, Thomson-Houston companies were valued at $17 million, while Edison General Electric Company was worth about $15 million. It was more a takeover than a merger, and Thomson-Houston executives dominated the new company. General Electric's first president was Charles Coffin, the former head of Thomson-Houston, a one-time shoe salesman. Edison was given a token seat on the company's board of directors.112

Both companies submitted bids to provide power for Chicago's World's Fair, the Columbian Exposition, "a grand fair to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of America's discovery by Christopher Columbus."113 The fair was set to open on May 1, 1893.114 "Westinghouse submitted a low-ball bid that undercut General Electric's offer by more than half, and in May 1892, was awarded the contract to provide power and light to the fair."115

106 Empires of Light at 218.

107 Id. at 220.

108 Id. at 228.

109 AC/DC at 131.

110 Id.

111 Id. at 133.

112 Id. at 133-134.

113 Id. at 134.

114 Empires of Light at 248.

115 AC/DC at 135.

10 Even though Westinghouse scored a major victory in winning the World's Fair contract, he faced a large problem when it came to actually lighting the event. On July 14, 1891, the Southern District of New York had sustained an earlier decision holding Edison controlled the exclusive patent rights to his one-piece design .116 The decision was upheld in federal court on October 4, 1892.117 In order to skirt Edison's patent, Westinghouse had to design a new two-piece "stopper lamp" to power the lights at the World's Fair.118 "Westinghouse built a new glass factory for the project and churned out a quarter of a million lamps in less than a year, a remarkable marshaling of manufacturing resources." The U.S. Supreme Court declined review of the Second Circuit's decision affirming the Edison light bulb patent,119 and the legal battle in the War of the Currents ended.

Westinghouse's participation in the Chicago World's Fair was an important turning point in the battle for AC prominence.

The Westinghouse generating plant for the fair was the largest AC central station then in existence, and the first large polyphase system ever built in the United States. It was the first truly universal AC system, able to power incandescent lights, arc lamps, and other DC applications through use of a . Everything that moved or lit up at the fair was powered by the Westinghouse polyphase AC system – even General Electric's exhibit.120

Twenty-seven million people visited the fair,121 which generated and consumed "three times as much electricity as the whole city of Chicago."122 Westinghouse also managed to turn a profit of $19,000 on the fair contract.123 "The publicity for AC electricity was, as Westinghouse anticipated, incalculable."124 "In the year following the fair, more than half of all new electrical devices ordered in the United States ran on alternating current, largely due to Westinghouse's success and the superior performance of Tesla's induction motor at the exhibition."125 This overwhelming achievement put Westinghouse

116 Edison Electric Light Co. v. U.S. Electric Lighting Co., 47 F. 454 (C.C.S.D.N.Y. 1891); see also Empires of Light at 237 and AC/DC at 135.

117 Edison Electric Light Co. v. U.S. Electric Lighting Co., 52 F. 300 (2d Cir. 1892).

118 Empires of Light at 239.

119 Sawyer-Man Electric Co. v. Edison Electric Light Co., 13 S.Ct. 1052 (1893).

120 AC/DC at 138.

121 Empires of Light at 263.

122 Id. at 265.

123 Id. at 274.

124 Id.

125 Id.

11 and his company in position for his next big project – harnessing the power of .

Alternating Current Wins the Battle

Westinghouse won the contract to provide the system to power Niagara Falls on October 27, 1893.126 "About one-fifth of the U.S. population lived within four hundred miles of Niagara, and Buffalo (a city of 250,000) was only twenty miles away. The flow of water over the falls was steady and reliable, making it ideal for spinning a turbine smoothly to produce a continuous flow of electricity."127 "Westinghouse ended up providing the AC generators, switchgear, and auxiliary equipment for the power plant at Niagara. General Electric was given a decidedly secondary role in the project, supplying transformers and maintaining the AC to Buffalo."128 On August 26, 1895, the first two Westinghouse generators were activated, "sending alternating current crackling down the line to Buffalo and beyond."129

Niagara became the model for the way electrical power would be generated and consumed in the twentieth century and beyond. Electricity would be produced wherever there was a source of reliable power, transmitted hundreds, even thousands of miles, and consumed where it was most needed. Niagara removed the last serious doubt about the efficiency of the AC system.

By 1902, the system at Niagara Falls was providing a fifth of all electricity in the U.S.130 "The War of the Electric Currents was over. George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, and the alternating current had won. The world was about to be forever changed. Great indeed are the powers of electricity."131

Moving forward, Westinghouse and General Electric each invested in power generation and electrical appliances. "By 1940, Westinghouse had annual sales of more than $400 million; GE had more than $1 billion."132 Today, the power grid consists of four major subsystems providing alternating current to different sections of the U.S.133 Meanwhile, "[e]very portable electronic device on the planet – laptops, cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players. . . runs on direct current."134

126 Empires of Light at 305.

127 AC/DC at 139.

128 AC/DC at 140-141.

129 Id. at 141; see also Empires of Light at 319.

130 Empires of Light at 367.

131 Id. at 333.

132 AC/DC at 174.

133 Id.

134 Id. at 177.

12 So it is with standards wars; all victories are provisional, all defeats subject to revision. Advances in technology, changes in the marketplace, in the way people live, and most important, in what they value, can overturn even the most entrenched technical standard. This has turned out to be especially true of electricity, built, as it is, on a foundation of dualities: negative and positive, AC and DC. What was bad becomes good, what was good becomes obsolete, the pair of opposites eternally alternating.135

135 Id. at 179.

13

14 THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT HISTORICAL TIMELINE Reprinted from https://mrgrahammoore.com/books/the-last-days-of-night/historical-timeline/

As a work of historical fiction, one of the major techniques employed in The Last Days of Night is a compressing and rearranging of the real-life calendar of events. Below, you can find both the real and fictional timelines, so you can see where they match-up and where they diverge. . . Please note: "Historical spoilers abound, so don't read this until you've finished the book!

THE BOOK REAL LIFE

September 16, 1878 September 16, 1878 Edison tells the New York Sun that he's Edison tells the New York Sun that he's invented an electric lamp invented an electric lamp

November 4, 1879 November 4, 1879 Edison applies for a patent on an Edison applies for a patent on an "incandescent electric lamp" "incandescent electric lamp"

January 27, 1880 January 27, 1880 Edison receives the patent for the Edison receives the patent for the "incandescent electric lamp" "incandescent electric lamp"

1884-1888 1884-1888 Reginald Fessenden works in Edison's lab Reginald Fessenden works in Edison's lab

Summer 1884-Spring 1885 Summer 1884-Spring 1885 Tesla works for Edison Tesla works for Edison

1885/1886 Edison sues the United States Electric Lighting Company and the Mount Morris Electric Company, both of which became adjoined with the Westinghouse Electric Company

January 8, 1886 George Westinghouse forms the Westinghouse Electric Company

1886 Westinghouse counter-sues Edison by filing a suit against the McKeesport Light Company, an Edison entity

1886-1890 Reginald Fessenden works in Edison's lab

December 1886 Agnes Huntington has a dispute with the manager of the Boston Ideals & gives an interview to the New York Times about these troubles

15 THE BOOK REAL LIFE

November/December 1887 November 1887 Westinghouse tries to compromise with Edison Alfred Southwick, a member of the New York only to be rebuffed State Death Commission, reaches out to Thomas Edison about the efficacy of using electricity to execute prisoners, but Edison declines to get involved

December 9, 1887 After some further prodding by Southwick, Edison has a change of heart and promotes the idea of using Westinghouse's A/C current as the method of execution

December 1887 December 1887 Edison sues Westinghouse for infringing on his Edison sues Westinghouse for infringing on his lightbulb patent lightbulb patent

Early 1888 1888 Paul is hired by George Westinghouse Paul is hired by George Westinghouse

Early 1888 Westinghouse buys up smaller electrical companies and licenses his A/C technology to local firms

The Novel Begins Here

May 11, 1888 May 11, 1888 The workman burns on Broadway The workman burns on Broadway

May 11, 1888 Westinghouse counter-sues Edison

May 15, 1888 Tesla's presentation at Columbia

June 1888-1890 June 4, 1888 Reginald Fessenden works in Westinghouse's New York State Legislature established lab electrocution as the means of capital punishment, effective January 1, 1889

June 5, 1888 Harold Brown's anti-A/C editorial is published in the New York Post

June 7, 1888 Westinghouse tries to compromise with Edison only to be rebuffed

Mid-June 1888 Tesla's presentation at Columbia

16 THE BOOK REAL LIFE

July 1888 July 1888 Tesla moves to Pittsburgh to work for Tesla moves to Pittsburgh to work for Westinghouse Westinghouse

July 30, 1888 Harold Brown conducts his first animal electrocution experiment

August 1888 Agnes Huntington has a dispute with the manager of the Boston Ideals

August 1888 Harold Brown's anti-A/C editorial is published in the New York Post

August 1888 Tesla leaves Westinghouse's Pittsburgh lab

September 19, 1888 Fire at Tesla's lab

November-December 1888 Westinghouse buys up smaller electrical companies and licenses his A/C technology to local firms

November 1888-December 1889 (Yes 1889) Tesla suffers from amnesia

December 1888 Paul hires associate attorneys to help him with the case

December 1888 Agnes gives the New York Times an interview about her troubles with the Ideals

1888-1889 Agnes is courted by Henry Jayne

January 1, 1889 Harold Brown conducts his first animal electrocution experiment

Mid-Late January 1889 Break-in at Harold Brown's office

Mid-Late January 1889 Edison outed as being Harold Brown's co- conspirator in promoting the electric chair

17 THE BOOK REAL LIFE

March 29, 1888 William Kemmler kills his wife

Early-Mid May 1889 Spring/Summer 1889 New York Federal Court rules against Charles Coffin helps Edison, Brown & New Westinghouse in the lightbulb patent case York State acquire an A/C generator to be used to execute Kemmler

Early-Mid May 1889 New York State Legislature approves electric chair for use in executions

Mid-Late May 1889 William Kemmler kills his wife

Summer 1889 Summer 1889-Summer 1890 Paul appears in court and unsuccessfully Bourke Cockran (likely on orders from Paul argues against using the electric chair to Cravath) appears in court and argues against execute Kemmler using the electric chair to execute William Kemmler

Summer 1889 July 1889 Charles Coffin helps Edison, Brown & New Break-in at Harold Brown's office York State acquire a Westinghouse A/C generator to be used in Kemmler's execution

August 6, 1889 August 1889 William Kemmler is executed via an electric Edison outed as being Harold Brown's co- chair conspirator in promoting the electric chair

August 10, 1886 Baring Brothers collapses

September-December 1889 Fall 1889 Westinghouse faces bankruptcy and he and Tesla leaves Westinghouse's Pittsburgh lab Paul appeal to creditors in New York City

October 1889 The Pittsburgh Circuit Court rules against Westinghouse in the lightbulb case, stating Edison alone created a practical, functioning bulb

Late 1880s/Early 1890s Agnes Huntington and Henry Jayne engage in a courtship

December 1889 Tesla works on X-rays with Wilhelm Röntgen

January 1, 1890 Reginald Fessenden outed as a spy for Edison

18 THE BOOK REAL LIFE

January 1890 Edison is removed as the head of EGE and Charles Coffin is installed in his stead

January 1890 Westinghouse licenses Tesla's A/C patents to the newly-renamed General Electric

January 1890 General Electric licenses Edison's lightbulb patent to Westinghouse

January 1890 Westinghouse provides Tesla with a new lab

January 1890 Westinghouse convinces Tesla to sign away his royalty on his A/C patents

Mid-January 1890 Agnes breaks things off with Henry Jayne

1890s 1890s Tesla becomes a minor celebrity in New York Tesla becomes a minor celebrity in New York City City

August 6, 1890 William Kemmler is executed using an electric chair

September 21, 1890 Agnes discusses her career in an interview with The New York Times

November 15, 1890 Baring Brothers collapses

November-December 1890 Westinghouse faces bankruptcy and he and Paul appeal to creditors in New York City

Early 1891 Westinghouse convinces Tesla to sign away his royalty on his A/C patents

July 14, 1891 The New York Federal Court upholds Edison's prior victory in the lightbulb case

1892 1892 Paul and Agnes get married Agnes and Henry Jayne dissolve their relationship

19 THE BOOK REAL LIFE

Early 1892 Tesla suffers from amnesia

February 1892 Edison is removed as the head of EGE and Charles Coffin is installed in his stead

October 4, 1892 EGE maintains its victory in the lightbulb case in the Federal Court of Appeals

November 15, 1892 Paul and Agnes get married

December 1892 The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Edison's lightbulb patent, officially ending the "Seven Years' Incandescent Lightbulb War" 1893 1893 World Columbian Exposition World Columbian Exposition

1893 Reginald Fessenden works for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh

May 1893 A Westinghouse Electric draftsman is outed as a spy for Edison

1895 Tesla works on X-rays with Wilhelm Röntgen

March 13, 1895 Fire at Tesla's lab

1896 1896 Paul, Westinghouse, Edison & Tesla gather at Westinghouse licenses Tesla's A/C patents to Niagara Falls the newly-renamed General Electric

July 19, 1896 Tesla's first visit to Niagara Falls; his companions included Paul Cravath & George Westinghouse

January 12, 1897 Niagara Falls Power & Conduit Company Banquet to celebrate electric power being generated by the Falls

Early Paul implements the "Cravath System"

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