Siemens AG

Siemens AG is a consumer electronics company. Werner von Siemens had invented a telegraph that did not use Morse code, but had a needle indicator that pointed to the right letter. This was the basis for the company that he founded on October 12, 1847. In 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe, spanning 500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. The founder's younger brother, Wilhelm von Siemens a.k.a. Sir William Siemens started to represent the company in London in 1850. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long distance telegraph networks in Russia. In 1855, a company branch was set up in St Petersburg, headed by another brother, Carl von Siemens. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs. In 1890, the founder retired and left the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. Siemens & Halske was incorporated in 1897. In 1919, S&H and two other companies jointly formed the Osram lightbulb company. A Japanese subsidiary was established in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, S&H started to manufacture radios, television sets, and electron microscopes. In the 1950s, S&H started to manufacture computers, semiconductor devices, laundromats, and heart pace makers. Siemens AG was incorporated in 1966. The company's first digital telephone exchange was produced in 1980. In 1990, Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG was founded. Siemens AG is the maker of the popular Desiro trainsets.