Alexander Miles, US inventor. Miles is celebrated as part of African-American history in the 19th century, and in particular for his invention of a safety device for elevators. Patent number 371,207 was filed on 11 October 1887, and improved the oopening and closing of the elevator and shaft doors, reducing the number of accidents where people had been falling down lift shafts. He was also one of the founders of the City of Duluth, Minnesota, a sucessful businessman, and head of the United Brotherhood, the first fraternal insurance company created by African-Americans. Photograph published in 1900.