Richard Spikes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Spikes
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| Born | October 2, 1878 |
| Died | January 22, 1963 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | barber, schoolteacher, musician, businessman, inventor |
| Spouse(s) | Lula Belle Charlton |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Monroe Spikes Sr., Medora Kirby Spikes |
Richard Bowie Spikes (born October 2, 1878 – died January 22, 1963) was a clever American inventor. He created and improved many useful things. Some of his ideas included a special way to pour drinks from a barrel, a better automatic gear shift for cars, and a safety braking system for big trucks and buses. His invention for pouring drinks was so good that a company bought the patent. Different versions of his design are still used today! Even though many of his other inventions were not used everywhere during his lifetime, his ideas helped make things safer and easier.
Contents
Meet Richard Spikes: An Amazing Inventor
Early Life and Family
Richard B. Spikes was born in San Francisco, California. He was one of nine children. His father, Monroe Spikes, was a barber. His mother was Medora (Kirby) Spikes. Richard had two younger brothers, John Curry Spikes and Reb Spikes, who became famous musicians and songwriters. They even wrote a popular jazz song called "Someday Sweetheart." Reb Spikes was a talented jazz saxophonist who worked with other well-known musicians. He also helped start the careers of young talents like Lionel Hampton.
Richard Spikes was good at music too, playing the piano and violin. But he also learned to cut hair in his father's shop. Later, he became a public school teacher in Beaumont, Texas. On October 8, 1900, Richard married Lula Belle Charlton. Her father helped create the first public schools for African Americans in Beaumont. Richard and Lula had one son, Richard Don Quixote Spikes.
Inventing New Ideas
After getting married, Richard Spikes moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then to Bisbee, Arizona. He ran a barber shop and later a business where people gathered. He noticed that pouring drinks from large barrels could be better. So, he invented new ways to do it using pressure. A company called Milwaukee Brewing Company bought his patent. You can still see similar designs used today!
Later, Richard moved back to San Francisco, California. In 1913, he received a patent for improvements to car directional signals. He even put his new signals on a Pierce-Arrow car. It's important to know that he wasn't the very first person to invent turn signals. Another inventor, Percy Douglas-Hamilton, had a patent for them earlier in 1906. Richard improved on the idea. A few years later, he worked on a machine to test car brakes. The Oakland, California Police Department was interested and tried it out!
Richard continued to work as a barber, owning shops in San Francisco, Fresno, California, and Stockton, California. Sadly, his eyesight started to get worse because of glaucoma, a condition that also affected other family members. His brother John, who also had vision problems, even invented a "writing aid for the blind" to help people write. Richard kept inventing despite his challenges. In December 1932, he received a patent for making changes to the automatic gear shift for cars. This was based on an earlier invention from 1904.
A Legacy of Innovation
Richard Spikes was a true innovator. He patented or developed many different inventions throughout his life. His work helped make everyday items and vehicles safer and more efficient.
Richard Spikes' Amazing Inventions
Richard Spikes created or improved these inventions:
- U.S. Patent 928,813, Beer Tapper (1908) - A better way to pour drinks from a barrel.
- U.S. Patent 972,277, Billiard Cue Rack (1910) - A holder for billiard cues.
- U.S. Patent 1,362,197, U.S. Patent 1,362,198 Continuous contact trolley pole (1919) - An improvement for electric streetcars.
- U.S. Patent 1,441,383 Brake Testing Machine (1923) - A machine to check if car brakes work well.
- U.S. Patent 1,461,988 Pantograph (1923) - A tool for copying drawings at different sizes.
- U.S. Patent 1,590,557 Combination Milk Bottle Opener and Cover (1926) - A handy tool for milk bottles.
- U.S. Patent 1,828,753 Methods and Apparatus of Obtaining Average Samples and Temperature of Tank Liquids (1932) - A system for checking liquids in large tanks.
- U.S. Patent 1,889,814 Modifications to the automatic gear shift (1932) - Improvements for automatic car transmissions.
- U.S. Patent 1,936,996 Transmission and shifting thereof (1933) - More improvements for how cars change gears.
- U.S. Patent 2,517,936 Horizontally Swinging Barber's Chair (1950) - A new design for a barber's chair.
- U.S. Patent 3,015,522 Automatic Safety Brake System (1962) - A system to make brakes safer, especially for big vehicles.
