
Industrial & Electrical · Predecessors · merged April 15, 1892
Edison General Electric & Thomson-Houston
The two immediate predecessors of General Electric.
Vintage-style artistic recreation of GE's historic businesses.
01
Business history
Edison General Electric was formed in 1889 by consolidating Edison-related electrical companies. Thomson-Houston was a separate electrical manufacturer.
Their merger on April 15, 1892 formed General Electric. Edison’s earlier lamp work belongs to GE’s predecessor history, not to a corporation already called GE.
02
Major products & innovations
- ✦ Electric lamps
- ✦ Dynamos and generators
- ✦ Electrical systems
03
Heritage illustration

04
Employee memories
No approved memories from Edison General Electric & Thomson-Houston yet. Be the first to share one.
Share your story05
GE Jokes
The sixth why
We asked the five whys. We found the root cause. Then the manager asked a sixth why.
We're still in that conference room.
06
GE Garfield
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GE Motivational Quotes
No turbine was ever built by one person. Every one of those hands mattered.
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GE Legend Collectable Cards
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GE Honorable Mentions
Know someone from Edison General Electric & Thomson-Houston who deserves recognition — or is it your own story?
Nominate a GE legend10
Related businesses
1892 lighting roots · consumer business sold 2020Appliances & Consumer
GE Lighting
Where it all started: the light bulb.
Owned by Savant since 2020.
1892 generation roots · now GE VernovaEnergy & Power
GE Power
Turbines and generators that lit up cities.
Now part of GE Vernova.
1900 laboratory roots · successor research centersResearch & Technology
GE Research
One of America's earliest dedicated corporate research laboratories, founded in 1900.
Heritage continues in successor-aligned research organizations.


