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Otis, Elisha Graves
| (1811-1861), U.S. mechanical engineer, invented the first practical and safe elevator (first installation, 1857), among other inventions. As a master mechanic in a bedstead factory in 1852, he was sent to operate a new factory in Yonkers, New York, and to install its machinery. He devised a "safety hoist" equipped with an automatic safety device to prevent it from falling if the lifting chain or rope broke. He soon established his own elevator shop in 1853, and his work became widely known when he demonstrated his elevator at the Crystal Palace in New York City in 1854. He installed his first safety elevator for passenger service in 1857. He patented a steam elevator in 1861. He was born Aug. 3, 1811, Halifax, Vermont, and died April 8, 1861, Yonkers, New York. |
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