General Electric Company was an American multinational conglomerate. It played a role in the development of electric power, electric light, home appliances, aviation, and medical imaging. GE was established in 1892 through the merger of Thomas Edison's Edison General Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, a consolidation conceived and orchestrated by financier J. P. Morgan. Over its history, GE had multiple divisions, including aerospace, transportation, energy, healthcare, lighting, locomotives, appliances, and finance. In 2020, GE ranked among the Fortune 500 as the 33rd largest firm in the United States by gross revenue. In 2023, the company was ranked 64th in the Forbes Global 2000. In 2011, GE ranked among the Fortune 20 as the 14th most profitable company, but later very severely underperformed the market as its profitability collapsed. Two employees of GE—Irving Langmuir and Ivar Giaever —have been awarded the Nobel Prize. From 1986 until 2013, GE was the owner of the NBC television network through its purchase of its former subsidiary RCA before its acquisition of NBC's parent company NBCUniversal by Comcast in 2011.