Strauss, Levi (1829–1902)

Levi Strauss, the inventor of blue jeans, was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria, on February 26, 1829. Hirsch Strauss, his father, was a dry-goods peddler and had five children before the birth of Levi. Levi's name at birth was Loeb. Levi was the last child to be born in the Strauss family.

Hirsch Strauss died of tuberculosis in 1845. In 1847, Loeb and his mother and sisters immigrated to New York to join his brothers Jonas and Louis Strauss. The brothers had settled in New York and had started a dry-food business called J. Strauss Brothers & Co. Loeb stayed in New York for two days before moving on to Louisville, Kentucky. There, he stayed with his uncle, Daniel Goldman, who owned a ranch. Over the next five years, Loeb learned the English language and the customs of the new land. He trained to be a tailor. His dream at the time was to become an independent businessperson. He walked the roads of Kentucky selling cloth and notions from the pack on his back.

In 1853, Loeb Strauss became a citizen of the United States of America and changed his name to Levi. When news of the California gold rush made its way east, Levi decided to immigrate to San Francisco to make his fortune, not by panning for gold, but by selling supplies to the multitude of miners who arrived daily in the city to equip themselves before heading off to the gold fields. He convinced his brothers to provide him with items, which he intended to sell in San Francisco. Strauss arrived in San Francisco in March 1853. He established a dry-food business under his own name and, at the same time, was serving as the family's New York firm's representative on the West Coast.

A prospector chided Strauss because he did not bring a supply of pants with him. The miner told Strauss that prospecting for gold was hard on the pants. Levi decided to use the canvas that he brought with him from New York. He stitched it into pants and they were an instant hit. Levi's was the name given to the pants.

Jacob Davis played a major role in the creation of blue jeans. Davis was a tailor in Reno, Nevada. He purchased enormous amounts of cloth from the wholesale house of Levi Strauss & Co. One of Davis's customers kept ripping the pockets of the pants that Davis was making for him. The customer complained about the poor quality of the pants. Davis tried to figure how to strengthen the pockets of the pants. One day, he decided to put metal rivets at the point of strain. He placed rivets on the corner of the pockets and the base of the button fly.

The pants and the rivets were an immediate success. Davis became worried that someone would steal his invention so he decided to apply for a patent on the process. Davis did not have the $68 that was necessary to file the paperwork. He decided to write Strauss and ask him to hold the patent with him. Strauss agreed to Davis's proposal. On May 20, 1873, they received patent number 139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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