Editing Reginald Fessenden (section)

==Early work==
Fessenden's classical education provided him with only a limited amount of scientific and technical training. Interested in increasing his skills in the electrical field, he moved to New York City in 1886, with hopes of gaining employment with the famous inventor, [[Thomas Edison]]. However, his initial attempts were rebuffed; in his first application Fessenden wrote, "Do not know anything about electricity, but can learn pretty quick," to which Edison replied, "Have enough men now who do not know about electricity." However, Fessenden persevered, and before the end of the year was hired for a semi-skilled position as an assistant tester for the [[Edison Machine Works]], which was laying underground electrical mains in New York City. He quickly proved his worth, and received a series of promotions, with increasing responsibility for the project. In late 1886, Fessenden began working directly for Edison at the inventor's new laboratory in [[West Orange, New Jersey]], as a junior technician.<ref name="partvi"/> He participated in a broad range of projects, which included work in solving problems in chemistry, metallurgy, and electricity. However, in 1890, facing financial problems, Edison was forced to lay off most of the laboratory employees, including Fessenden.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yHg1AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA156 "The Inventions of Reginald A. Fessenden: Part VIII"], ''Radio News'', August 1925, pp. 156–158, 237.</ref> (Fessenden remained an admirer of Edison his entire life, and in 1925 stated that "there is only one figure in history which stands in the same rank as him as an inventor, ''i.&nbsp;e.'' [[Archimedes]]".)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yHg1AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA276 "The Inventions of Reginald A. Fessenden: Part IX"], ''Radio News'', September 1925, pp. 276–277, 380–384.</ref>

Taking advantage of his recent practical experience, Fessenden was able to find positions with a series of manufacturing companies. In 1892, he received an appointment as professor for the newly formed Electrical Engineering department at [[Purdue University]] in West Lafayette, Indiana; while there he helped the Westinghouse Corporation install the lighting for the 1893 [[World Columbian Exposition|Chicago World Columbian Exposition]]. Later that year, [[George Westinghouse]] personally recruited Fessenden for the newly created position of chair of the Electrical Engineering department at the [[Western University of Pennsylvania]] in [[Pittsburgh]] (now the University of Pittsburgh).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yHg1AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA590 "The Inventions of Reginald A. Fessenden: Part XI"], ''Radio News'', November 1925, pp. 590–591, 712–718.</ref><ref>Western University was renamed to the [[University of Pittsburgh]] in 1908.</ref>