Born near Circleville, Ohio to Michael Miles and Mary Pompy, Alexander Miles is the 19th Century African-American inventor known best for patenting his design for improving the automatically opening and closing elevator doors. The patent was issued on October 11, 1887 (U.S. Patent 371,207). Miles moved to Winona, Minnesota in 1870 … Read MoreAlexander Miles (1838-1918)
