Overview

A descendent of James Otis, a British immigrant who arrived in North America in the seventeenth century, Elisha Graves Otis was born in 1811. He grew up in Vermont before moving to the state of New York to work as a master mechanic. Working for the Bergen Company in Yonkers, he installed a "safety hoist" in a building in 1852 as a means to prevent the sudden fall of the elevator. Five years later, he designed and constructed the first safety elevator in a New York City building. By 1861, following additional improvements to his system, Otis's sons formed the Otis Elevator Company. Together with other innovations in building practices, the elevator became the cornerstone for the effective...