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Year:1883
Who: Jan Ernst Matzeliger (1852 – 1889)
Where: Lynn, Massachusetts
What: Jan Earnst Matzeliger was a Black inventor born in Paramaribo, Suriname (Dutch Guiana) in 1852. He revolutionized the shoe industry with his invention of the "lasting machine," which mechanized the process of attaching the upper portion of a shoe to the sole. This innovation significantly increased the efficiency of shoe production, transforming the industry by reducing labor costs and increasing output.
Matzeliger's early life was marked by his mechanical talents, which he developed while apprenticing in machine shops run by his father, a Dutch engineer. After immigrating to the United States in the 1870s, he settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, the leading center of shoe manufacturing at the time. Despite facing racial discrimination, Matzeliger's determination led to his groundbreaking invention. He was granted a patent for the lasting machine in 1883, and this invention allowed manufacturers to produce up to 700 pairs of shoes a day—compared to just 50 pairs by hand.
Sources:
Journal Article
Kaplan, S. (1955). Jan Earnst Matzeliger and the Making of the Shoe. The Journal of Negro History, 40(1), 8-33.
Websites:
National Inventors Hall of Fame. (n.d.). Jan Ernst Matzeliger. https://www.invent.org/inductees/jan-ernst-matzeliger
Google Patents. (n.d.). Patent US274207A - Lasting Machine by Jan Ernst Matzeliger. https://patents.google.com/patent/US274207A/en
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