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American Experience

Electrifying Manhattan

Clip: Season 27 Episode 3 | 2m 59s

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In February 1881, Thomas Edison established the headquarters of the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City. Edison’s goal of electrifying Lower Manhattan had stalled for two years while Edison and his team grappled with creating the world’s first electrical power grid. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

Aired: 01/27/15 | Rating: NR

Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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The Chinese Six Companies

On May 28, 1900, San Francisco policemen formed a perimeter around Chinatown as officials diagnosed bubonic plague in the neighborhood and wanted to quarantine the nearly 20,000 residents. As tensions flared, an influential group of merchants known as the Chinese Six Companies sprang into action.

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