**It is now Black History Month, and the theme is to honor Black Inventors in this series. **
Have you ever used an old elevator where you had to manually close the door(s)?
The way my upper body strength is set up, this task is hard. Depending on the size of the elevator.
So, imagine if you were running late to work and you had to take the time to do this?
Being that most of us have never had to do this, let’s all thank Alexander Miles.
In 1874, the first patent for an automatic elevator door was given to John W. Meaker. His version had manual doors for both the car and shaft. This proved to be a big danger. One day Alexander Miles alongside his daughter had a near miss incident with a shaft door that was left open. After, he decided to work on changing this. In 1887, he patented the automatic elevator doors we all know today. With a flexible belt holding on the elevator car, the drums would alert that the floor was reached, and the doors would open and close accordingly. He lived a long life after continuing to be great. Many decades following his death, in 2007, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Let’s thank Mr. Miles for his contribution to our society and our Black History. Remember him each time you step on an elevator.