Elisha Otis
Elisha Graves Otis (August 3 1811 — April 8 1861), son of Stephen Otis Jr. and wife Phebe Glynn, invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke.[1] He invented this safety device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852.
Otis was born near Halifax, Vermont.[1] He moved away from home at the age of 19, eventually settling in Troy, New York, where he lived for 5 years.[2] At New York’s Crystal Palace, Elisha Otis amazed a crowd when he ordered the only rope holding the platform on which he was standing cut.[1] The rope was severed by an axeman, and the platform fell only a few inches before coming to a halt.[1] His new safety brake had stopped the platform from crashing to the ground and revolutionized the industry.
Otis sold his first safe elevators in 1853.[2] The first passenger elevator was installed by him in New York in 1857. After Otis's death in 1861, his sons, Charles and Norton, built on his heritage, creating Otis Brothers & Co. in 1867.[3]
Otis's invention increased public confidence in elevators, and therefore allowed for the mass construction of a new trend of building: the skyscraper.[3] The company he founded became known as the Otis Elevator Company,[2] the largest elevator company in the world. Today, it is a division of United Technologies Corporation.
Today, the Otis family owns a home along the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[4]
See also
External links
- Elisha Otis Induction from Invent Now Hall of Fame
- Elisha Otis Article from Encyclopedia Britannica
- Elisha Otis from BookRags
- Elisha Otis from PBS
References
- ^ a b c d Invent Now. "Invent Now Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ a b c Encyclopedia Britannica. "Encyclopedia Britannica Article on Elisha Otis". Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ a b PBS. "Inventor Article on Elisha Otis". Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ BookRags. "Elisha Otis Biography". Retrieved 2007-12-18.