http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_niagara.html
Niagara
Falls
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_niagara.html
The next large project for Tesla and
Westinghouse
would be to harness the power from the Niagara Falls. The International
Niagara
Falls Commission headed by Lord Kelvin (a British physicist), created a
contract for the job, which resulted in a failed competition. Many
companies
came up with different ideas for the job, including Edison, but they
were all
rejected. Kelvin had always been against the idea of AC, but after
attending
the World's Fair, he asked the Westinghouse Corporation to use AC power
for the
harnessing of Niagara Falls. Westinghouse was awarded the contract in
1893 and
funding was provided by some of the wealthiest men in America including
J.P.
Morgan, Lord Rothschild, and W.K. Vanderbilt. Construction finished and
the
switch was thrown on November 16th, 1896 and to the investor's relief,
the
plant worked perfectly. Ten more generators were built in the years to
follow,
and Niagara Falls was eventually powering much of New York.
J.P. Morgan saw the potential of the new
hydroelectric power
and wanted it all under his control. He manipulated the stock market in
hopes
to bankrupt Westinghouse and force the company to sell Tesla's patents.
In
desperation, Westinghouse pleaded to Tesla for an escape from the
previous
contract which was paying him immense royalties. In one of history's
most
modest gestures, Tesla tore up the contract. With the contract, Tesla
would
have possibly become the nation's first billionaire (at the expense of
Westinghouse's
entire capital), but Tesla was grateful for the man who initially
believed in
his invention. Unfortunately, this decision would financially haunt
Tesla in
his later years.
J.P. Morgan
Niagara generator under construction, c.
1894
First three generators go online in 1896
Lord Kelvin
(center) visits Westinghouse corporation,1897