What was alexander miles childhood like

Alexander Miles (May 18, – May 7, ) was an African American inventor and businessman, best known for being awarded a patent for automatically opening and closing elevator doors. He was awarded US patent on October 11,

Biography

Alexander Miles was born in Pickaway County near the town of Circleville, Ohio, in , the son of Michael and Mary Miles.

He was African-American. Miles may have resided in the nearby town of Chillicothe, Ohio, but subsequently moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he earned a living as a barber. After a move to Winona, Minnesota, he met and married Mrs. Candace J. (Shedd) Dunlap, of La Porte, Indiana, a widow with two children, who was four years his senior and a native of New York.

Alexander Miles - Lemelson

Together they had a daughter, born in , named Grace. It is believed by some that Alexander got the idea for his elevator door mechanism after Grace accidentally fell down a shaft, almost ending her life. Shortly after he