Alfred Ely Beach
Alfred Ely Beach | |
|---|---|
Beach c. 1870 | |
| Born | September 1, 1826 |
| Died | January 1, 1896 (aged 69) New York City, US |
| Education | Monson Academy (now Wilbraham & Monson Academy) |
| Occupations |
|
| Known for | Designing the Beach Pneumatic Transit |
| Children | Frederick Converse Beach |
| Father | Moses Yale Beach |
| Relatives | Moses S. Beach, brother William Yale Beach, brother Charles Yale Beach, nephew Stanley Yale Beach, grandson |
| Family | Yale |
Alfred Ely Beach (September 1, 1826 – January 1, 1896) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, publisher, and patent lawyer, born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is known for his design of the earliest predecessor to the New York City Subway, the Beach Pneumatic Transit, which became the first subway in America. He was an early owner and cofounder of Scientific American and Munn & Co., the country's leading patent agency, and helped secure patents for Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and other innovators. A member of the Union League of New York, he also invented a typewriter for the blind and a system for heating water with solar power.