Elisha Otis: Difference between revisions
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Otis's invention increased public confidence in elevators, and therefore allowed for the mass construction of a new trend of building: the [[skyscraper]].<ref name="PBS Inventors Article">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/otis_hi.html|title=Inventor Article on Elisha Otis|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]}}</ref> The company he founded became known as the [[Otis Elevator Company]],<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Elisha Otis">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9057648/Elisha-Graves-Otis|title=Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Elisha Otis|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> the largest elevator company in the world. Today, it is a division of [[United Technologies Corporation]]. |
Otis's invention increased public confidence in elevators, and therefore allowed for the mass construction of a new trend of building: the [[skyscraper]].<ref name="PBS Inventors Article">{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/otis_hi.html|title=Inventor Article on Elisha Otis|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]}}</ref> The company he founded became known as the [[Otis Elevator Company]],<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Elisha Otis">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9057648/Elisha-Graves-Otis|title=Encyclopædia Britannica Article on Elisha Otis|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> the largest elevator company in the world. Today, it is a division of [[United Technologies Corporation]]. |
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Today, the Otis family owns a home along the [[Intracoastal Waterway]] in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]], [[Florida]].<ref name="BookRags on Elisha Otis">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookrags.com/Elisha_Otis|title=Elisha Otis Biography|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[BookRags]]}}</ref> |
Today, the Otis family owns a home along the [[Intracoastal Waterway]] in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida|Fort Lauderdale]], [[Florida]].<ref name="BookRags on Elisha Otis">{{cite web|url=http://www.bookrags.com/Elisha_Otis|title=Elisha Otis Biography|accessdate=2007-12-18|author=[[BookRags]]}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 21:08, 4 October 2008
Elisha Graves Otis | |
|---|---|
 Elisha Graves Otis | |
| Born | August 3 1811 |
| Died | April 8 1861 |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Engineering career | |
| Projects | elevators |
Elisha Graves Otis (August 3 1811 — April 8 1861), son of Stephen Otis Jr. and wife Pheobe Glynn, invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke.[1] He worked on this safety device while living in Yonkers, New York in 1852, and then finally had a finished product in 1854.
Biography
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 the New York 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 safety 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 Encyclopædia Britannica
- Elisha Otis from PBS
References
- ^ a b c d Invent Now. "Invent Now Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ a b c Encyclopædia Britannica. "Encyclopædia 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.