The man, unshaken, declared, All safe, gentlemen! That man was Elisha Otis, and this breathtaking stunt proved the reliability of his revolutionary elevator safety brake. Today, his name is ...

Riding in an elevator used to be dangerous business — until Elisha Otis, of Otis Elevator Company fame, invented a device that could prevent a passenger elevator from falling if its rope broke.

On Sept. 20, 1853, Elisha Graves Otis sold his first “hoist machine,” or elevator, featuring an automatic safety brake he had patented. His seemingly simple invention was designed to stop a ...

Soon after, the Otis elevator appeared in the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building. Save this picture! Elisha Otis' elevator patent drawing, 15 January 1861. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Elisha Graves Otis born on August 3, 1811, was an American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. The success of his company was made possible by his invention of a safety device ...

Elevators that have been transformed since Elisha Otis invented the safety brake in 1853 are going through another wave of change as office workers and apartment dwellers face new demands brought ...

Prior to Elisha Otis’ design for the elevator safety brake in 1853, buildings rarely reached 7 stories. Since then, buildings have only been growing taller and taller. In 2009, the world’s ...

In 1853 Elisha Otis climbed onto a platform which was then hoisted high above a large crowd of New Yorkers, nervy with anticipation. A man with an axe cut the cable, the crowd gasped, and Otis’s ...

During the celebration, Otis profiled its Gen2 Switch product line of elevators that reduce power usage by elevators, is solar-power capable, and uses batteries when the power goes out.

American giant Otis, is a well-known name worldwide. We are sure you spot this name when stepping into an elevator more often than not. Founded by Elisha Otis in the 1800s, the company has a ...

Elisha Otis invented the first passenger safety elevator - the patent for which can be seen here - 160 years ago 31,228 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?