Jesse Wilford Reno (August 4, 1861 – June 2, 1947), an American engineer, is credited with inventing the first functional escalator. This innovation, patented on March 15, 1892, as the "inclined elevator," was first displayed at Coney Island’s Old Iron Pier in New York City, significantly advancing urban transportation. Although a similar device, "revolving stairs," was patented in 1859 by Nathan Ames, it was never built.
Born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Reno was the son of Civil War General Jesse Lee Reno. He started working on his “inclined elevator” concept at sixteen. Graduating from Lehigh University in 1883 with a mining engineering degree, he worked in Colorado and later built the southern U.S.’s first electric railway in Georgia, 1891.
In 1896, Reno’s escalator installation at Coney Island drew over 75,000 riders. Following this, his designs found application in U.S. subway systems, and he created a spiral escalator for the London Underground. In 1911, he sold the "Reno Inclined Elevator" patent to Otis Elevator Company, marking a milestone in vertical transportation.
Reno’s contributions extended to underwater salvage with his submersible vehicle invention and an early aircraft carrier design, a floating airfield powered by a propeller. He was posthumously honored in 2007 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his innovations in engineering and urban transit.
