General Electric is set to announce that it is moving its global headquarters to Boston. Here’s a look at the history of the American conglomerate.
1878 Thomas Edison forms the Edison Electric Light Company
1879 Edison invents first commercial incandescent bulb at Menlo Park lab in New Jersey
1892 General Electric created by merger of Edison General Electric Co. and the Thomson-Houston Co. of Lynn, Massachusetts.
In 1903 Acquires Stanley Electric Manufacturing Co. of Pittsfield, whose founder, William Stanley, developed the electric transformer.
1905 Sells first electric toaster
1910 Manufacturers first electric range, the Hotpoint
1912 Begins using resins to mold plastic parts
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1917 Produce first sealed home refrigerators
1919 Forms Radio Corporation of America (RCA) with American Telephone & Telegraph
1927 Broadcasts first TV signal to a home in Schenectady, NY from GE station WGY
1930 Markets first electric clothes washer for home use
1935 Provides lighting for first night game of Major League Baseball
1956 Creates first toaster oven
1971 Introduces first portable air-conditioner
1981 Names UMass grad Jack Welch chief executive
1992 Builds the Mars Observer for NASA.
2001 Taps Jeffrey Immelt to succeed Welch as CEO
SOURCE: General Electric