Otis, William S.
William S. Otis (1813-1839), an American engineer who invented the first powered construction machine and the steam shovel in 1835; the machines were patented in 1839. The Otis Shovel is the predecessor of all construction machines and became the foundation for mechanized construction; the majority of Otis’ principles are still used in construction equipment today. The Otis Shovel was composed of a crane mounted on a carriage or railroad car. A load of earth could be taken up by a scraper and raised by the crane, which could then turn to dump the contents in railcars or other storage or transportation vessels. A steam engine was installed with a power control mechanism for the crane, along with a system of pulleys to move its arms and bucket. Technological descendants of the Otis Shovel soon became key to large-scale surface mining of coal, uranium, and oil sands.
