Talk:Elisha Otis

message: This article needs to have references and sources to prove the many facts it states.  Without these sources, even external links, this article is not credible and will most likely be deleted by an administrator.  Please add sources to this article to improve its credibility. Locke (talk) 21:13, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have gone through and given this page complete references.  However, there is reason to believe that the text of this article may have been copied from at least one of the sources that I researched.  I will be giving this article a rewrite shortly to improve its context. Locke (talk) 18:58, 18 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have completed my reworking of this article to ensure that all facts are accurately cited, and that it meets the guidelines of Wikipedia.  It is now a true article, complete with "See also," "External links," and "References." Locke (talk) 19:15, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

text: Administrators have the ability but not the authorization to unilaterally delete articles similar to the 09:27, 6 December 2007 revision that Locke found. Nomination for (what is now) WP:AfD would surely have led to a "Keep" (and improve) result, rather than deletion.     That said, Locke appears at a glance to have substantially improved the article. --Jerzy•t 19:20, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: References

message: I found that this page was incredibly short and very dry; it was only about 1 sentence long
So, i went ahead and filled up an entire paragraph about him
Sorry to those who i might've switched around or deleted your sentences  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.233.170.49 (talk) 21:21, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  (Expansion) 

message: Mention of the The $500 is worthless trivia as it stands, and misleading for many: It sounds like a pittance, but it was probably several months' wages. It needs to be supplemented by a statement of the equivalent in current dollars or some other significance-conveying measure.--Jerzy•t 15:51 & 19:20, 1 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bonus 

message: As a result of research on previous occupants of the house where I live, I have reason to believe that the idea that Elisha Otis is the inventor of the first safety lift or elevator should be corrected. John A. Forster, who I believe was the first occupant of Oaks House {from 1836-1841}, Evenwood, and viewer or manager to the collieries owned by the Durham County Coal Company in the area, had installed a working safety lift in the Evenwood mine by 1840. He exhibited his design for this lift  at Newcastle in 1840  and gave a detailed description of its ingenious workings in the journal The Mechanics Magazine, January (1841)  pp. 105-6. This can be consulted via Google advanced book search, for which the link is:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JxEFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA105&dq=%22evenwood%22+%22colliery%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BjjwUPaVI4Wr0AXumoDQAg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22evenwood%22%20%22colliery%22&f=false
(‘Jno.’ Is an abbreviation for ‘John’, and ‘Forster’ is often spelt ‘Foster’, the different spellings  sometimes occurring even in the same document referring to him).
As one can see from even the snippet available on Google advanced book search from another contemporary journal, The Polytechnic Journal, Vol 4, (1841),  Foster (or Forster) is described as the ‘inventor’ of the safety cage, or lift:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dLsRAAAAYAAJ&q=%22evenwood%22+Foster&dq=%22evenwood%22+Foster&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mTfwUJtjytDRBb-BgbAK&redir_esc=y
In his own account one can note that others were working on similar projects, such as one Admiral   Bullen of Bath. But there is no question that Forster’s safety lift was in existence and operating by 1841. It is perhaps not surprising that mining engineers were attempting to find a solution to accidents occurring due to the breaking of lift-hoisting ropes or chains, given the increasing depth of mines being sunk in the early 19th century. 
Further, it appears that at least the second journal referenced above was available in the US. This is in no way to suggest any ‘foul play’ on the part of Elisha Otis, since there is no question of copyright, and there may have been no influence at all. However, it is important to register that such safety lifts were already operating in the collieries in the UK at least ten years before Otis’ invention. Rightly the invention of the safety lift is credited with playing a decisive part in the development of the modern skyscraper and, therefore, of the modern urban landscape.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Andrew Beards
2 Oaks House,
Evenwood,
County Durham, UK  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Blandford-Beards (talk • contribs) 16:20, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: I noticed that both documents show that the inventor was Mr John A. Foster. Why do you think his name may have been Forster? Do you have a source that makes you believe his name was Forster? ——Nikolas Ojala (talk) 11:44, 25 September 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Earlier safety lifts/elevators 

message: This should be expressed more clearly, or corrected, or clarified:
"... nor did he try to sell it. After having made several sales..."  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.47.13.163 (talk) 18:59, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contains confusing juxtaposition 

message: I noticed that the wikipedia dump for this article contains a Persondata entry with the name "Bob Wensley, born August 3, 2012 in Halifax, Vermont and presumely dying on April 8, 2045. I don't know how relevant this is, but it's pretty weird.  
Regards,
Sebastian Mecklenburg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.33.10.147 (talk) 13:52, 28 February 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Strange and wrong info in the wikipedia database 

message: I think there should be at least one mention of Otis Tufts since they both came up with their elevator patents around the same time, and to clarify their similar namesakes. 199.230.114.162 (talk) 15:32, 27 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Otis Tufts Mention