GE
Helping out around the home involved more than thinking up the latest modern conveniences like the electric washing machine, air-conditioning, the dishwasher, and television. GE also responded to the Great Depression by introducing GE Consumer Finance so that customers could pay for new appliances over time, helping them build a better home even when times got tough.
The Indianapolis 500 race is won by Peter DePaolo driving a Duesenbarg Special equipped with a GE supercharger.
GE brings TV into the home. The first home television reception takes place at a Schenectady, NY residence with a signal from GE's WGY. In 1928, WGY initiates thrice-weekly TV programming. The impact of TV on modern life and culture is enormous.
The first major application of electronic control is demonstrated by the installation of stepless electronic theatre lighting controls.
In another labor-saving step forward for consumers, GE's first electric clothes washer for home use is placed on the market, yet one more in the long series of quality of life improvements brought to consumers by GE.
The world's tallest building is built with GE technical expertise. Safety switches, panel boards, switchboards and other equipment are used exclusively in the construction of the Empire State Building.
GE scientists continue to develop another one of the building blocks of mass production: moldable plastic. GE forms a new Plastics Division to implement developments in plastics beyond the company's needs for insulation materials. Plastics begin to enter consumers' lives in the form of everyday household items.
Responding to the difficult economic environment consumers face during the Great Depression, the GE Credit Corporation is created to help finance the sale of GE Appliances to American families. Consumer financing by the General Electric Contracts Corporation is made available to meet the widespread demand for the new variety of electric appliances, and to meet consumers' needs to buy them over time.
GE scientist Irving Langmuir becomes the first U.S. industrial scientist to win the Nobel Prize for his pioneering research in the field of surface chemistry.