August 3, 1811: It’s the birthday of Elisha Graves Otis, born 205 years ago in Halifax, Vt. who found his inspiration while working in a Yonkers, N.Y., factory that needed to move heavy equipment to its upper floor.
Using a hoist came with the risk of equipment crashing to the ground if the cable broke, so Otis designed the first automatic safety device, which amounted to brakes locking the platform to prevent it from plummeting.
Source: New York Times, 08/03/16