Milton Reeves
| Milton Othello Reeves | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 25, 1864 Rush County, Indiana |
| Died | June 4, 1925 (aged 60) Columbus, Indiana |
| Known for | Octo-Auto and Sexto-Auto |
| Spouse(s) | Amanda Melvina Kirkpatrick |
| Parent(s) | William Franklin Reeves Hannah M. Gilson |
Milton Othello Reeves (August 25, 1864 – June 4, 1925) was an early pioneer of the American automobile industry. He held more than 100 patents.
He was born on a farm in Rush County, Indiana on August 25, 1864 to William Franklin Reeves and Hannah M. Gilson and educated in Knightstown. He married Amanda Melvina Kirkpatrick in 1882. Reeves died on June 4, 1925 in Columbus, Indiana, aged 60. He was buried in Columbus City Cemetery in Columbus, Indiana.
In 1879 Reeves worked in a sawmill in Columbus. He noticed that workers could not control the speed of the pulleys used to power the saws. This caused the wood to split and a large amount of wastage. After some months of study and experimentation, Reeves invented a variable-speed transmission to control the saws speed.
In 1888 Reeves and his brothers, Marshal and Girney purchased the Edinburg Pulley Company and renamed it the Reeves Pulley Company. Marshal was the driving force behind this venture having first invented a tongueless corn plow in 1869 and in 1875 together with his father and uncle formed the Hoosier Boy Cultivator Company. In 1879 the company name was changed to Reeves & Co. Reeves, with his interest in motor vehicles, began to develop a and in so doing adapted his variable speed transmission. The transmission became a product line in its own right for the Reeves Pulley Company because of its multiple applications.
Reeves is credited as building either the fourth or fifth American automobile, called at the time a . It had a belt and pulley based variable speed transmission which he believed made it superior to Henry Ford's Quadricycle with only one speed. The motocycle was four-wheeled and powered by a two-cylinder, two cycle, six horsepower Sintz Gas Engine Company engine. The coach was made by the Fehring Carriage Company. The Sintz engine proved unreliable and Reeves created his own air cooled model, probably in 1897/1898.
His first recorded test of his motocycle's transmission took place on 26 September 1896. To overcome noise and fumes of the engine, Reeves created a double muffler, an industry first. Reeves and his brother lodged the muffler patent in 1897. That same year he introduced a new improved version of the motocycle. The car was driven to Indianapolis and attained a top speed of 15 mph. It was reported as the first auto in the city. In a later test the vehicle attained 30 mph. By 1898, Reeves had lost momentum and was discouraged, probably by the almost complete lack of sales. Only five are thought to have been sold. By 1899 Reeves' brothers were no longer supporting the motocycle's development mainly because of the lack of reliable engines.
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