Babcock & Wilcox Company

Founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1867, The Babcock & Wilcox Company began when George H. Babcock and Stephen Wilcox joined forces to manufacture and market Wilcox's patented water-tube boiler. The design was promoted as a safer alternative to conventional steam boilers, and that focus on practical engineering became central to the company’s identity.

Over time, Babcock & Wilcox grew into a major industrial name in power generation. Company and reference histories credit it with a long list of milestones, including early utility boilers, equipment connected to New York City’s first subway era, and later work in nuclear power systems. Today, the company describes its business around renewable, environmental, and thermal technologies.

Its appeal as a subject is the mix of invention, industrial history, and long-term influence: what started with one important boiler patent grew into a company tied to more than a century of energy and infrastructure development.