19. George Westinghouse
Pittsburgh entrepreneur George Westinghouse made his fortune through marketing a railroad airbrake of his own invention. The airbrake was so successful that its basic design remains in use on rail cars and other vehicles such as heavy trucks today. He then gambled his fortune in the War of the Currents, backing Nikola Tesla’s alternating current electrical distribution system over Edison’s direct current as the means for electrifying the United States. Later he developed a steam turbine engine for ships, the design of which drove much of the American fleets both merchant and naval during the Second World War. His industrial leadership was visionary, and his legacy continues to be influential in American industry.