Post News Group

Inventor Alexander Miles patented Safety Feature for Elevators Still in Use Today

Published

6 years ago

August 5, 2020

Alexander Miles. Duluth Public Library photo

During the late 19th century, elevators were constructed in a way that required a person to manually open and close its doors. Residential and commercial buildings often hired operators to perform this function.

The problem with this model was that sometimes people would forget to close the shaft doors. This led to many unfortunate accidents.

Alexander Miles (1838–1918) witnessed an open shaft door once. This concerned him as his young daughter, Alice (according to the 1860 census), was with him at the time. Thinking of her safety, Miles knew that the doors needed improving. He then went to work creating a mechanism that closed access to the shaft door while the elevator was in operation on other floors.

His design attached a flexible belt to the elevator cage. When it went over drums positioned at the appropriate spots above and below a floor, it automated the opening and closing of the doors with levers and rollers. In 1887, Miles, an African American inventor and businessman, was granted a patent on this mechanism, one that is still used in elevator design today.

Miles was born in Ohio, near a town called Circleville. His birth year has been recorded as “possibly January 1837” (others report May 1838), and no record exists confirming that he was ever a slave. He had no other siblings. His family relocated to Waukesha, Wis., in the late 1850s. It was there that he began making a living as a barber.

He later met Candace Dunlap, a widowed mother of two. The couple married and, by 1863, relocated to Duluth, Minn. There, they had one daughter together. Miles continued his profession as a barber and began developing a line of hair care products that included Tunisian Hair Dressing.

The couple quickly prospered. They invested in real estate. Miles operated his barbershop in the upscale St. Louis Hotel, but the profession soon became an adult hobby.

He joined the Duluth Chamber of Commerce, becoming its first African American member; and became active in politics and fraternal organizations.

After just over two decades, Miles sold his real estate investments and relocated his family to Chicago. His business interests then grew, as he founded The United Brotherhood in order to sell life insurance policies to African Americans.

At that time, Blacks were regularly excluded from, if not flat out denied coverage. By age 50, Miles was at the top of his game and worth an estimated half-million dollars. His real estate, hair care business and inventions did well, and he was thought to be the wealthiest Black man in the Midwest during that time.

Later, after relocating to Seattle, it was believed he was the wealthiest Black person in the Pacific Northwest. But his debts would mount and his financial bubble would burst during the recession. Some 20 years later, Miles was broke, widowed, and working as a barber again. His residence was a Seattle rooming house. He died in 1918 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/alexander-miles-improved-elevator-4071713
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Miles
https://www.invent.org/inductees/alexander-miles
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=alexander+miles&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1
Duluth Public Library – & Images of America – Duluth Minnesota – Sheldon T. Aubut author

Tamara Shiloh

About Tamara Shiloh

Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series, Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic, Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022.

Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California,

Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter, Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas.

She is a member of:

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

Richmond Chamber of Commerce

Point Richmond Business Association

National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)

Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)

California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin

Richmond CA Kiwanis

Richmond CA Rotary

Bay Area Girls Club

Tamara Shiloh, a native of Northern California, has two adult children, one grandson and four great-grand sons. She resides in Point Richmond, CA with her husband, Ernest.

www.multiculturalbookstore.com

Posts by Tamara Shiloh | Website

Up Next

City of Richmond and Volta to Offer Free Public Electric Vehicle Charging

Don't Miss

Oakland Unified Preps for Full Distance Learning

Tamara Shiloh

About Tamara Shiloh

Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series, Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic, Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022. Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California, Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter, Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas. She is a member of:

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Richmond Chamber of Commerce
Point Richmond Business Association
National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)
Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)
California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin
Richmond CA Kiwanis
Richmond CA Rotary
Bay Area Girls Club

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of January 28, 2025 – February 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 28, 2025 – February 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of January 21 – 27, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 21 – 27, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 27, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

20-Year PG&E Employee Has a Big Heart for Customers, Community

As a customer success manager, Adrienne supports her coworkers who work with large agricultural and industrial customers. When someone has a billing issue that’s been escalated by an account manager, Adrienne works to “resolve these concerns before they become bigger issues.”

Published

2 weeks ago

January 25, 2026

Oakland Post

PHoto Courtesy PG&E.

By Tony Khing

Adrienne Shelton has a way of putting herself in others’ shoes.

As a PG&E employee recently marking 20 years with the company, she works to resolve billing issues with large customers. In her hometown of Oakland, she’s on the lookout for ways to make a difference, volunteering at her church, her kid’s school, and as she says, “just anywhere.”

If anyone’s looking for an example of being empathetic, look no further.

‘Our customers come first’

Recently, PG&E changed the billing format for customers who are manually billed. In the past, they got two bills: one that summarized everything and one that was more detailed and broke down the various billing components. The new format has everything on one bill.

“Some of our customers create internal reports based on how we presented the information,” said Adrienne. “But now, they’re not seeing the detail as they had in the past. They’ve had problems reconciling their books. Change can be hard. They’re used to seeing things in a certain way.

“I put myself in their shoes,” she added. “I ask myself what would make me satisfied? I make sure our customers come first.”

Besides being empathetic, Adrienne consistently shows characteristics valued at PG&E: tenacity, curiosity, and ownership.

“Much of my role involves encouraging people to accomplish tasks and working with internal partners to implement changes,” said Adrienne. “For example, I might say, ‘This customer requires their information formatted in a certain way. Even if only a few customers need this, it’s essential for them to balance their numbers and keep their businesses running.’

“I reach out to anyone necessary to ensure we can implement the change, and I don’t accept ‘no’ easily,” she continued. “I’ll escalate the issue as far as possible until I determine it truly can’t be done.”

Adrienne enjoys solving problems. When a customer explains their needs, she views it as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

“That’s part of why I enjoy my job,” she explained. “Each day brings something different, and we get to work out how to find solutions.”

Making a difference in the community

Not only does Adrienne practice being empathetic at work, but she also brings that trait to her community in Oakland.

“My church has a feeding ministry that feeds the community twice a week,” said Adrienne. “I go as often as I can. For Thanksgiving, I took my kids and family and we served dinner to the homeless.”

Adrienne has also been a member of the company’s Black Employee Resource Group for 19 of her 20 years. This past year, one of her ERG responsibilities was supporting the scholarship program, which provides awards to college-bound students.

“The students are very appreciative when they get their scholarship checks and have someone follow up with them,” she said. “It’s important to make a difference in their lives.”

Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud of Adrienne, who honors his legacy by making service a part of her life—not just for one day, but every day. On Jan. 19, Adrienne and her family will take the Celebration Train from San Jose to San Francisco and then participate in the annual march through the city to honor King’s birthday.

Her motivation is deeply personal. Her father grew up in segregated Arkansas, and his stories shaped her understanding of resilience, justice, and gratitude.

“It’s important for my kids to know their history and how fortunate we are to be in this time and place,” she said. “We’re so blessed to have many of the things we have. It’s important we don’t take any of that for granted.”