Jesse W. Reno

Who was Jesse W. Reno?

Jesse Wilford Reno invented the first working escalator in 1891 used at the Old Iron Pier, Coney Island, New York City. His invention was referred to as the "inclined elevator." An earlier escalator machine, termed "revolving stairs" by its inventor Nathan Ames, was patented March 9, 1859, but was never built.

Reno was born in 1861 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was the son of American Civil War notable Jesse L. Reno. He graduated from Lehigh University in 1883 with an engineering degree in mining, later a metallurgical degree, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity.