Early Career
Prior to working with Edison, Brown labored as a salesperson for the Western Electric Company and the Brush Electric Company, selling electrical devices, most notably Edison’s electric pen. However, the ambitious Brown aspired to be more than a salesman. Edison was his role model. Still, with little formal training in the field of science or invention, Brown failed in securing several patents of his own.
His golden opportunity came during the hey-day of the War of Currents between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). Brown would side with Edison and DC and staked his career on proving that AC was more deadly than DC and thus should not be used as the current of choice for powering electrical devices in homes.
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