Elias Howe Jr (1819 – 1867)

It is a device which is used everywhere many times a day around the world and is still one of the most effective means of getting a complete join between two edges of clothing. Of course, I’m talking about the zip but do you know who first had the idea that led to the creation of this everyday object? Step forward, Elias Howe Jr, the latest inductee into our illustrious Hall of Fame.

Born in 1819 in Spencer, Massachusetts, Howe is better known for his work on developing and refining the sewing machine for which on 10^th September 1846 he was awarded an American patent. His version of the sewing machine contained three features which are still in use today – a needle with the eye at the point, a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch – the most…