Alexander miles elevator biography

African American inventor

For the Scottish surgeon, see Alexander Miles (surgeon).

Alexander Miles (May 18, 1838 – May 7, 1918) was an African American inventor and businessman, known for being awarded a patent for automatically opening and closing elevator doors.

Alexander miles fun facts

He was awarded U.S. patent 371,207 on October 11, 1887.

Biography

Alexander Miles was born on May 18, 1838 Pickaway County, Ohio,^[1] the son of Michael and Mary Miles.^[2] He was African-American.

Miles may have resided in the nearby town of Chillicothe, Ohio,^[3] but subsequently moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he earned a living as a barber.^[4] After a move to Winona, Minnesota, he met and married Mrs.

Candace J. (Shedd) Dunlap, of La Porte, Indiana,^[5] a widow with two children, who was four years his senior and a native of New York.^[6] Together they had a daughter, born in 1876, named Grace.

It is believed by some th