The Current War: Director's Cut (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Edison refused the investment because he refused to exploit his inventions to endanger lives. When Morgan proposed the partnership during Edison's demonstration of the Phonograph at the White House, Edison declined on moral grounds, believing his inventions should not be used as weapons. Morgan later decided to support Edison's electrification of Manhattan anyway, leading to Edison lighting the New York Stock Exchange in 1882.

Foreshadowing: This moral stance would later be dramatically undermined when Edison secretly helped develop the electric chair to discredit AC current.

• j.p. morgan
• investment
• thomas edison
• phonograph
• white house

Edison snubbed Westinghouse's dinner invitation in Pittsburgh because he chose to bypass Pittsburgh entirely during his travels. This personal rejection stred Westinghouse to champion Alternating Current (AC) as a superior technology that could travel larger distances at significantly lower costs than Edison's Direct Current (DC) system, directly fueling their fierce rivalry.

Foreshadowing: Westinghouse's rejection became the catalyst for his commitment to AC technology and his determination to prove Edison wrong.

• george westinghouse
• dinner invitation
• thomas edison
• pittsburgh
• Alternating Current
• Direct Current

Tesla left Edison's company because he became disillusioned with Edison's refusal to embrace new methodologies. Tesla believed fervently that AC was the superior technology requiring far fewer resources. His departure was finalized when Tesla realized Edison's promise of a $50,000 reward for solving five challenges was merely a jest, not a genuine offer.

Foreshadowing: Tesla would later partner with Westinghouse to develop the AC motor that would win the current war.

• nikola tesla
• thomas edison
• alternating current
• $50000 reward
• resignation

The electric chair severely damaged Westinghouse's AC reputation. Edison secretly assisted in developing the electric chair to discredit AC, even though he had previously opposed using inventions to kill. When William Kemmler became the first person executed by electrocution in 1890, it was labeled "Far Worse Than Hanging." However, when called to testify, Edison stated AC was painless, exposing his duplicity and causing public backlash against him.

Foreshadowing: Westinghouse used Edison's hypocrisy to swing public opinion back in his favor, revealing Edison's behind-the-scenes role in the electric chair.

• electric chair
• william kemmler
• execution
• alternating current
• thomas edison
• public relations war

Westinghouse refused Morgan's $5 million offer because he refused to let the future of electrical power depend on Edison's choice. Even when his wife Marguerite urged him not to forsake the company he established, Westinghouse chose to continue fighting for AC technology despite immense financial pressure and the controversy surrounding the electric chair.

Foreshadowing: Westinghouse's refusal proved pivotal when AC technology triumphed at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

• j.p. morgan
• $5 million
• george westinghouse
• buyout
• Alternating Current company

Westinghouse's AC technology triumphed spectacularly at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Both Edison and Westinghouse submitted proposals to illuminate the fair, with Samuel Insull representing Edison. Westinghouse's AC exhibit dazzled fairgoers with its innovative lighting solution, securing the contract and proving AC's superiority for large-scale power distribution.

Foreshadowing: This victory cemented AC as the dominant electrical system and marked the turning point in the Current War.

• worlds columbian exposition
• chicago 1893
• westinghouse
• lighting
• alternating current
• samuel insull

Tesla died impoverished in a New York hotel room despite his revolutionary contributions to electrical engineering. While his partnership with Westinghouse initially showed promise and could have made him a millionaire, Tesla struggled with investors, was fired from his own company, and never achieved financial stability from his inventions. His alternating current patents eventually expired, leaving him without income in his later years.

Foreshadowing: This tragic fate contrasts sharply with Westinghouse's eventual recognition and Edison's lasting commercial success.

• nikola tesla
• poverty
• death
• hotel room
• inventor
• alternating current patents

In 1911, Westinghouse received the prestigious Edison Medal from the American Association of Electrical Engineers, recognizing his contributions to electrical engineering despite his bitter rivalry with Edison. This ironic honor acknowledged that AC technology, which Westinghouse championed and ultimately won with, represented the superior system for power distribution.

Foreshadowing: This recognition came years after their fierce rivalry had ended and represented a form of reconciliation in the engineering community.

• westinghouse
• edison medal
• 1911
• award
• american association of electrical engineers
• recognition

AC won because it was 75% more efficient than DC and could transmit power over thousands of miles with just one generator, compared to DC's requirement of 100,000 feet of copper wiring for every 100 customers. Westinghouse's technical superiority, demonstrated at Great Barrington in 1886 and culminating in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition victory, convinced cities to adopt AC. Additionally, Tesla's innovative motor designs and the Niagara Falls power project proved AC's viability for large-scale distribution.

Foreshadowing: The collaboration between Tesla and Westinghouse at Niagara Falls set the standard for modern electrical distribution.

• alternating current
• direct current
• efficiency
• transmission
• tesla
• westinghouse
• niagara falls

Edison secretly assisted in developing the electric chair specifically to discredit AC current, even though he publicly opposed using inventions for lethal purposes. He collaborated with his allies to design the execution method while claiming AC was dangerous and lethal. When Westinghouse's lawyers called Edison to testify during challenges to the electric chair's morality, Edison's statement that AC was painless exposed his hypocrisy and backfired dramatically.

Foreshadowing: This moral compromise became one of the darkest chapters in Edison's career and ultimately damaged his public reputation.

• thomas edison
• electric chair
• execution
• alternating current
• death penalty
• hypocrisy