X-Nico

13 unusual facts about Western Electric


Arthur Haddy

He became an apprentice with the radio equipment manufacturers C. F. Elwell Ltd, and moved to the Western Electric Company as a junior employee.

Bellmac 32

After the breakup of AT&T, Bell Labs passed to Western Electric, and with this, the Bellmac 32 was renamed the WE 32000.

Devil's Gate-Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant

The main room in the powerhouse accommodates a Pelton wheel turbine and a 2300 volt generator made by Western Electric, together with a small 125VDC exciter generator.

Donald A. Quarles

Donald Aubrey Quarles (July 30, 1894 - May 8, 1959) was a communications engineer, senior level executive with Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric, and a top official in the United States Department of Defense during the Eisenhower Administration.

Edward K. Gill

He started working at Western Electric in the 1930s, and during his four decades there was promoted to director, retiring from the company in 1979.

Finding His Voice

Late in 1926, AT&T and Western Electric created a licensing division, Electrical Research Products Inc.

Graybar

After several relocations, all in Chicago, the business was incorporated as the Western Electric Manufacturing Company in 1872 to meet the capital requirements of the telegraph supply business.

John H. Ray

In 1937 appointed VP & general council of Western Electric and in 1942 promoted to VP and general council of American Telephone & Telegraph Company, a position he held until mandatory retirement in 1951.

Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant

After Ford's departure, the building was used as a warehouse by the Western Electric Company from 1956 to 1959.

Skaggs Institute of Retail Management

The Skaggs Institute of Retail Management received the “Western Electric Fund Award” for having the most innovative program among colleges of business.

Thomas G. Dunn

After completing his military service he helped found Local 1470 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers while working at the Kearny, New Jersey Western Electric facility.

Walter Tenney Carleton

Their only son, Charles Dubois Carleton was born 7 January 1899 in Yokohama Japan, where Walter and Enriqueta had traveled on business with Western Electric.

Washoe Theater

The delay in opening allowed the sound system to be re-designed as a showcase for Western Electric's newest innovation "Mirrorphonic Sound".


Anson Stager

Anson Stager (April 20, 1825 - March 26, 1885) was the co-founder of Western Union, the first president of Western Electric Manufacturing Company and Union Army general, where he was head of the Military Telegraph Department during the Civil War.

Naperville, Illinois

Employers contributing to the population explosion of the 1980s and 1990s included: Bell Labs and Western Electric (now Alcatel-Lucent), Amoco (now BP and Ineos), Nalco, Nicor, and Edward Hospital.

Victor Orthophonic Victrola

Electrical recording was developed by Western Electric, although a primitive electrical process was developed by Orlando R. Marsh, owner and founder of Autograph Records.