The battle between Thomas Edison's direct current and Nikola Tesla's alternating current technologies became known as the "War of the Currents."
While direct current was the dominant technology in the United States at the time, Tesla believed that alternating current was more efficient for transmitting electric power over long distances.
Edison, on the other hand, argued that alternating current was dangerous and defended direct current as the safest and most reliable solution.
The dispute intensified when Westinghouse Electric Company, one of Tesla's companies, won a contract to light the Universal Exposition in Chicago in 1893 using alternating current.
Edison used every available resource to try to discredit Tesla's technology and promote direct current. He even promoted public demonstrations, electrocuting animals with alternating current to show that it was dangerous.
However, Westinghouse Electric Company was able to overcome Edison's competition and won a series of contracts to provide electricity to large American cities using Tesla's alternating current.
The battle of the currents was a milestone in the history of electricity and in the rivalry between two of the greatest inventors of all time. But in the end, Tesla's alternating current proved more efficient and eventually became the dominant technology in electric power transmission.