(1852-1889)
Jan Matzeliger probably never dreamed of the possibility of his changing
the way people lived as he was growing up in Dutch Guiana yet, that is
exactly what he did with his invention, and it all had to do with shoes.
Traditionally, shoes were made by hand, one at a time, by a cobbler who
measured a person’s feet and created the shoes especially for that
customer. Over time, machines were used to make the upper parts of the
shoes, but when it was time to shape the upper leather over the “last”
and attaching it to the bottom of the shoe, there was no machine to do
the job. As a result, this last step was done by important, skilled tradesmen called “handlasters”. But even if they were highly trained and well paid, it was only possible to make
between 40 and 50 pairs of shoes per day. Because of this, shoes were expensive, scarce, and
most often owned only by the wealthy.
When Jan arrived in the United States at the age of 24, the Civil War had been over for ten
years. He had been a sailor for two years before coming to America, he knew no one, and had
no friends or money. He got a job working in shoe factories and during those early days, he
realized that if a machine could be made to attach the top of the shoes to the bottoms, the
making of shoes would be faster, more efficient, and result in more affordable shoes for
everyone.
For years Jan labored over his invention. Over time he made friends (although there is no record
that he ever married or had children), but even then he received little if any encouragement for
his work. So many had tried unsuccessfully to make such a machine, it was believed no one
would be able to do it, yet he kept trying.
Finally, six years after arriving in America, Jan felt his machine was good enough to be used in
the production of shoes. He applied for a patent, but his diagrams were so confusing, the patent
office sent someone to see the machine in person. He found that not only did the machine work,
but it was able to make between 150 and 700 pairs of shoes a day, many, many more than
could be made by hand.
Jan was granted a patent, but did not have enough money to make the machine himself so a
company was formed and Jan was given a large amount of stock in the company in exchange
for the rights to his invention.
Sadly, after working so long and so hard, and not taking very good care of himself, Jan got sick
and died four years later at the age of 37. His invention has been labeled by some as “the most
important invention for New England”, and “the greatest forward step in the shoe industry”,
yet because he was an African-American, his important contribution to progress has only
recently been honored.
1852
Born
1876
Arrived in USA
1874
sailor
1889
Died
1883
Received Patent
# 274,207