Alexander Miles – Elevator Safety Pioneer
Perhaps those of us old enough to remember “classic” cartoons recall a hazard that seemed to be always looming for our animated heroes – falling down an elevator shaft. Tom or Jerry or some other character would run towards the door of an elevator, only to find, too late, that the elevator car was missing yet the door had been left open and a plunge into the empty void awaited them. It seemed to be something that viewers in that era saw as a common hazard of life in tall buildings. But today, we don’t hear of accidents like this. And much of the credit for this owes to an African-American barber name Alexander Miles.
The Life of Alexander Miles
Like many minority inventors from the 19th and early 20th century, not a lot is known about Miles’s life. He was born in Ohio in 1838 and spent time working as a barber in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Eventually he married a woman name Candace Dunlop and had a daughter named Grace.
Miles was clearly a man of ideas, although safety wasn’t his first foray into inventing. As a barber, he first explored new methods of hair care, manufacturing various tonics, and obtaining two patents for them. His barber shop became so popular (it was referred to by a local newspaper as “the best shop … in the state of Minnesota”) that he became a wealthy man and was the first black member of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce.
As his wealth grew, he built a three-story office building, which, it appears had elevators. And, while there isn’t documentation on this, the story goes that the elevators almost cost him his family when little Grace either fell or nearly fell into an open elevator shaft. Whatever the impetus, Miles decided to prevent accidents like this from happening again.
The Automatic Elevator Door Patent
The problem with elevator doors up to that time was that they had to be opened and closed manually. It was quite easy for a careless operator to direct the car to a different floor without remembering to close the doors before moving. So, the solution was to eliminate the human error factor by creating an automatic door opener.
Although Miles’ earlier work involved mostly chemistry, he put together the engineering for his automatic system which worked as follows:
“Miles attached a flexible belt to the elevator cage, and when the belt came into contact with drums positioned along the elevator shaft just above and below the floors, it allowed the elevator shaft doors to operate at the appropriate times. The elevator doors themselves were automated through a series of levers and rollers.”
While modern elevator doors may rely more on electric monitors and circuits, they still express his basic idea that human intervention shouldn’t be needed to open or close the doors, eliminating the chance of mistake or carelessness. The patent, issued in 1887, was a major step forward in safety in both workplaces and the increasing number of high-rises being built at the start of the 20th century.
Later Life of Alexander Miles
Miles was known as a champion of civil rights and a leader of the Black community in Duluth. Another aspect of his wide-ranging inventive mind was that in 1899 he founded an insurance company, the United Brotherhood, to insure Black people who at the time were often denied coverage by established insurance companies. He died in 1918 at age 80 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.
Questions?
Transport safety is still a vital issue in the 21st century, and we can help you with your hazmat issues. Contact ICC Compliance Center here at 888-442-9628 (U.S.) or 888-977-4834 (Canada) and ask for one of our Regulatory Experts. We have a full range of supplies and consulting for your transportation needs.
Stay up to date and sign up for our newsletter!
We have all the products, services and training you need to ensure your staff is properly trained and informed.
 49 CFR Publications |
 Lithium BatteryShipping Kit |
 Hazard Class Labels |
Sources:
National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, “Alexander Miles – Improved Method for Opening and Closing Elevators,” https://www.invent.org/inductees/alexander-miles
Bellis, Mary, Thoughtco, “The Improved Elevator of Alexander Miles,” https://www.thoughtco.com/alexander-miles-improved-elevator-4071713
Wikipedia, “Alexander Miles,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Miles
Johnson, Lilly, HistoryHit.com, “10 Facts about Inventor Alexander Miles,” https://www.historyhit.com/facts-about-alexander-miles/
ICC USA
ICC Canada