Honoring Richard Spikes during Black History Month
We began Black History month with a retrospective on Garrett Morgan, and now as we close out February 2020, we take a moment to remember another figure in automotive history, Richard Spikes.
Background
Richard Spikes was born in Dallas, Texas, on October 2, 1878, the fifth of nine children. His father, Monroe Spikes, was a barber. Richard Spikes married Lula Belle Charlton in 1900. Lulu Charlton was the daughter of Charles Charlton, an ex-slave who co-founded the first African American public schools in Beaumont, Texas. Together Richard and Lula had a son, Richard Don Quixote Spikes. Mr. Spikes lived to age 84 and died in Los Angeles, California, on January 22, 1963.
Work History
Throughout his life, Richard Spikes held many occupations, including school teacher, musician (piano and violin), barber, businessman, and inventor. He was a talented musician from a musical family. Two of his brothers were professional musicians and songwriters. Mr. Spikes learned to cut hair while working for his father in his barbershop. Later he went on to become a public school teacher in Beaumont, Texas. Not long after marrying Lula, the couple moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then onto Bisbee, Arizona. In Arizona, Mr. Spikes first operated a barbershop and then opened a saloon. While running the bar, his annoyance with how beer flowed from the keg lead him to develop variations on the beer tap pressure dispenser. His patent was purchased by Milwaukee Brewing Company, and variations of his invention are still used to this day.
Automotive Inventions
Richard Spikes was a prolific inventor, improving upon the billard cue rack and the barber chair, among other things. Still, he is best known for his inventions relating to automobile technology. He developed a variation of the automatic transmission gear shifting device that sought to keep the gears for different speeds in constant harmony, enhancing the performance of the newly developed automatic transmission. He developed a brake testing machine after moving from Arizona to San Francisco, which was used by the Oakland, California Police Department. Mr. Spikes then went on to invent an automatic brake safety system that provided back-up braking action in the event the regular brakes were damaged. This technology is still used in school buses to date.
Patents
Richard Spikes received patents relating to invention or variations on the following:
- Beer Tap
- Billiards Cue Rack
- Trolley Pole – Continuous Contact
- Brake Test Machine
- Pantograph
- Milk Bottle Opener and Cover Combination
- Methods/Apparatus for Obtaining Samples and Temperature of Tank Liquids
Watch YouTube Video: Richard Spikes Top 5 Facts. The following video provides five facts about the American inventor, Richard Spikes.
North Highlands Personal Injury Lawyer
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