Biography on elisha otis

Who invented the lift elevator in 1853

In Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety brake for elevators. He called the elevator with the safety brake system the safety elevator. This safety brake stopped the elevator from plummeting to the ground in the unfortunate event of the elevator hoisting cables breaking. The safety brake consisted of toothed guide rails on the sides of the elevator.

If the elevator hoisting cables broke, the toothed guide rails would catch and stop the elevator from falling. Otis rose up in his safety elevator as the crowd below watched. When he was far above the crowd, he told is assistant to cut the elevators hoisting cables. The crowd was astonished when the elevator stopped after only dropping a few inches.

He was the youngest of six children. As a young adult, he tried to start various businesses to which were unsuccessful, mostly do to chronic health problems. In , Otis moved to Albany, New York.