FARMINGTON, Conn., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Two men whose
innovations changed the way the world built cities shared more than
just a creative streak — they also share a bloodline. Experts at
the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston have confirmed that Willis Carrier's great-grandmother, Lydia Otis, was cousins with Elisha Otis, making Carrier and Otis fourth
cousins. Now, the Carrier and Otis brands are parts of UTC Building
& Industrial Systems, the world's largest provider of building
technologies and a part of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:
UTX).
"The blood relationship that our New England Historic
Genealogical Society (NEHGS) researchers discovered between
Elisha Otis and Willis Carrier demonstrates the impact that
genealogical study has upon history," said D. Brenton Simons, President and CEO, NEHGS. "By
connecting two innovative individuals on a family tree – our
understanding of 'family' is once again advanced. While it has been
observed for centuries that cousins work closely together for the
benefit of their clan, in this instance two cousins worked
diligently for the benefit of society with innovations that
dramatically changed our way of living."
Elisha Otis was born in
Halifax, Vermont in 1811 and later
moved to Yonkers, New York. Two
years after inventing the "safety elevator," Otis famously promoted
it at the 1854 World's Fair in New York
City. With the help of circus legend P.T. Barnum, Otis stood atop an elevator
platform as the rope was cut to demonstrate the springs that
snapped into place and kept the elevator from falling. Today, Otis
Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer and maintainer
of people-moving products, including elevators, escalators and
moving walkways.
Willis Carrier was born in
Angola, New York, near
Buffalo in 1876. Less than a
decade after inventing modern air conditioning in 1902 to solve a
production problem at a Brooklyn
print shop, he solidified his role in history as the "father of air
conditioning" with the Rationale Psychometric Formulae. It is the
most famous and enduring document ever prepared on the topic and
Carrier's equations still form the basis of air conditioning design
calculations. Today, 112 years later, Carrier is the world's leader
in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration
solutions.
"The creative thought running through the Otis and Carrier
families enabled buildings to rise higher and become more
comfortable, increasing productivity, making urban life possible
and creating the skylines of today," said Geraud Darnis, president,
UTC Building & Industrial Systems. "People often joke that 'it
must be in the water,' but in this case, that inventive spirit was
in their blood."
"I think both Elisha and Willis would be pleased to see their
pioneering spirit alive and well today," said John Mandyck, chief sustainability officer, UTC
Building & Industrial Systems. "Their legacies of innovation
have inspired our engineers to create advancements in energy
efficiency to support the world's move to greener buildings. It's
not surprising that they were family long before their brands
became part of the same company."
A video about the discovery is available on UTC Building &
Industrial Systems' YouTube channel. To learn more about Carrier
and Otis, visit Carrier.com, Otis.com or follow both on Twitter:
@CarrierGreen and @OtisElevatorCo.
About UTC Building & Industrial Systems
UTC Building & Industrial Systems is the world's largest
provider of building technologies. Its elevator, escalator,
fire-safety, security, building automation, heating, ventilation,
air-conditioning and refrigeration systems and services promote
integrated, high-performance buildings that are safer, smarter and
sustainable. UTC Building & Industrial Systems is a unit of
United Technologies Corp., a leading provider to the aerospace and
building systems industries worldwide. For more information, visit
www.BIS.UTC.com or follow @UTCBIS on Twitter.
About New England Historic Genealogical Society
The founding genealogical society in America, New England
Historic Genealogical Society was established in 1845. Today it has
a national collecting scope and serves 65,000 constituents through
our award-winning web site www.AmericanAncestors.org.
Since 1845, NEHGS has been the country's leading research center
for genealogists and family historians of every skill level. Today
we provide more than 25,000 members worldwide with access to some
of the most important and valuable research tools anywhere. Our
resources, expertise, and service are unmatched in the field and
our leading staff of on-site and online genealogists includes
experts in early American, Irish, English, Scottish, Jewish,
African American, Native American, and Canadian research. Expert
assistance is available to members and nonmembers in a variety of
ways. The NEHGS library and archive, located at 99-101 Newbury
Street in downtown Boston, is home
to more than 28 million items, including artifacts, documents,
records, journals, letters, books, manuscripts, and other items
dating back hundreds of years.
Photo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140722/129471
SOURCE UTC Building & Industrial Systems