Elmer Berger

Who was Elmer Berger?

Elmer C.A. Berger was an inventor in the early 1900s credited for invention of the rear-view mirror, although racing enthusiast Ray Harroun experimented with one as early as 1911 while driving in the Indianapolis 500. However, Elmer Berger was the first to patent and manufacture the rear-view mirror for automobile use. He named his device the "COP-SPOTTER" and it was produced by his Berger and Company. In the 1930's and 40's he owned a prominent horse racing stable in California. One of his colts, Boot and Spur, ran in the 1942 Kentucky Derby. Another stakes horse, Stitch Again, ran second in the 1947 Santa Anita Handicap. Elmer Berger is now buried in Hollywood Forever, a cemetery in Hollywood, California, in the Cathedral Mausoleum #1405