On this Day, March 15, 1892, the escalator is patented, by American inventor Jesse Wilford Reno. The idea for his "inclined elevator" was originally part of his proposal to build an underground New York City subway. The subway proposal was rejected, but the inclined elevator caught on. It included a rubber-coated moving handrail and a comb of projected fingers on the ends to help prevent feet from getting caught in the mechanism. The first one was demonstrated at Coney Island, New York, and transported some 75,000 people during its two-week stay there. It was then moved to the Manhattan entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge.

In researching the life of Jesse Wilford Reno it quickly becomes apparent that not much is really published about him—and what is out there is scattered and disparate.

Here’s what we’ve been able to compile about what we do know about Jesse Reno...

Jesse W. Reno was born on August 4, 1861 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was the son of American Civil War notable Majo...