January 9, 1923 of Fort Bragg, California received patent number 1,441,383 for a brake testing machine. His invention tested the efficiency or power of the brake and recorded the results of the test. Little is known of Spikes’ life except that he was born December 4, 1884 and was an incredible inventor. He had five additional patents, including patent number 1,362,197 for a trolley pole arrester on December 14, 1920, patent number 1,889,814 for an improved gear shift on December 6, 1932, patent number 1,936,996 for improvements in transmission and shifting means on November 28, 1933, patent number 2,517,936 for a horizontally swinging barber’s chair on August 8, 1950, and patent number 3,015,522 for an automatic safety brake system on January 2, 1962. Spikes died in 1962.
