Stanley was inspired by Charles F. Brush's work on batteries which involved study of electromotive force. In 1883, Stanley developed AC power circuit designs in his notebooks but didn't yet have a chance to build prototypes.
Stanley worked for George Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pa, during the years 1884 and 1885. He
had gained a reputation for his work on incandescent lamps. In 1885, Stanley built the first practical alternating current transformer based on Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs' prototype of 1881.
Health problems however implied that he leaves Pittsburgh, he moved to Great Barrington, a place where he had spent a good part of his childhood. In those peaceful surroundings, he was able to develop some ideas he had suggested two years earlier to his employer, George Westinghouse (who helped finance Stanley’s lab) for a new type of transformer.
There he set up a small laboratory and by early spring of 1886 had an alternator installed in an abandoned mill on the edge of the town.
On 20 March 1886 Stanley provided alternating current electrification to offices and stores on Main Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
He demonstrated the first practical system for providing electric illumination with the use of alternating current, and transformers to adjust the voltage levels of the distribution system.
In 1890, Stanley ventured out on his own to form the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company. Working with John J. Kelley and Cummings Chesney, he developed an advanced AC transmission system known as the “SKC system.”
Electric power by William Stanley
