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Harold P. Brown and the Executioner's Current: an Incident in the AC-DC Controversy

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  • Hughes, Thomas P.

Abstract

The Age of Electricity was foreshadowed by the “battle of the currents.†This almost forgotten controversy had important technological implications, but it is also a macabre chapter in the history of marketing tactics. Westinghouse's superior alternating current system was ingeniously attacked by proponents of direct current. Exploiting contemporary evidence from the penitentiary, the direct-current adherents declaimed against use by the public of a system employed by the state to rid itself of its most dangerous criminals.

Suggested Citation

  • Hughes, Thomas P., 1958. "Harold P. Brown and the Executioner's Current: an Incident in the AC-DC Controversy," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(2), pages 143-165, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:buhirw:v:32:y:1958:i:02:p:143-165_01
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