George Westinghouse was an American engineer, inventor, and businessman who pioneered the use of high-voltage AC electricity. In 1869 he founded the Westinghouse Air Brake Company to develop the air brakes he had invented for railroad use. From 1883 he did pioneering work on the safe transmission of natural gas. In 1886 he found the Westinghouse Electric Company, employing notably Nikolai Tesla, to develop AC induction motors and transmission equipment: this company was largely responsible for the acceptance of AC in preference to DC for most practical applications – in spite of opposition from the influential Thomas Edison.