A telegraph workshop
Werner von Siemens designed a pointer telegraph, and with precision mechanic Johann Georg Halske he set up Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske to build it. The ten-person shop opened in Berlin on Oct. 12, 1847. In 1848 it won the contract for Europe’s first long-distance telegraph line, Berlin to Frankfurt.
Source: Siemens: How our company has developed (history timeline)
The dynamo
In 1866, building on Michael Faraday’s work, Werner von Siemens described the dynamo-electric principle and built a dynamo, a forerunner of today’s big generators. In 1879 the company showed what Siemens calls the world’s first electric railway powered from an outside supply.
Source: Siemens: How our company has developed (history timeline)
Ties to America
In the 1920s Siemens-Schuckertwerke signed an agreement with the Westinghouse Electric Company that, by Siemens’ account, began a working relationship lasting decades. Siemens AG itself was formed on Oct. 1, 1966, combining Siemens & Halske, Siemens-Schuckertwerke and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke.
Source: Siemens: How our company has developed (history timeline)
Siemens and American panels
Siemens’ home breaker line in the U.S. traces back through I-T-E and BullDog (Pushmatic). In 1983 Gould’s electrical distribution and control business went to Siemens-Allis, a Siemens and Allis-Chalmers venture, and Siemens later owned it outright. See the I-T-E and BullDog story for that side of the family.
Sources: The New York Times: Siemens-Allis adds Gould unit (Feb. 1, 1983) Maritime Reporter (July 1985): elected president of Siemens-Allis Peak of Ohio: Logan County History, BullDog Electric
This is a history, not an endorsement. IES isn’t affiliated with Siemens, and its name and product names are trademarks of their owners. We use plain text, not logos.