Elisha Otis: Safe Elevators

This article, “Elisha Otis” from Britannica, explains some components of the “safety hoist”, while also giving a timeline of Elisha Otis’s life and career. The article explains how parts of the safe elevator work, while also giving information about Otis’s other inventions. Otis later installed his elevators for many businesses, paving the way for modern skyscrapers as we know them today.

A highly informative article, “Elisha Otis” from PBS’s Who Made America? details how Otis created the first safe and functional elevator and how it affects cities even today. The article explains how Otis’s childhood led to his inventing career and goes into detail about how his safe elevator stayed aloft even if the cables were cut. The article goes on to show how Otis’s inventions became an integral part of today’s architecture, with elevators made by the Otis Elevator Company used in historical landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State building.

This short and to-the-point article, “Elisha Graves Otis” from World of Invention, describes Otis’s early history and how he began his inventing career. The article explains how Otis’s most famous invention, the “safety hoist”, revolutionized the way factories could move and lift loads of material. Otis’s later inventions sparked the start of the Otis Elevator Company and allowed for the building of skyscrapers, an incredible development in the world of architecture.