Levi Strauss

Born: 1829 | Died: 1902

Entrepreneur

Levi Strauss was born in 1829 as Löb Strauss. A native of Buttenheim in Bavaria, he is known as the man who invented blue jeans.

Strauss got his start in the dry goods business after emigrating to New York at the age of 16. When news of the California gold rush reached him, he moved to San Francisco, where he hoped to make his fortune selling supplies to prospectors. As fate would have it, both prospectors and miners often complained about easily torn cotton “bridges” and pockets, which gave Levi an idea: Strauss started manufacturing durable work pants using a canvas-like material known as cotton duck. In 1872, a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis suggested placing metal rivets at stress points for greater strength. On May 20, 1873, Strauss and Davis received the United States patent #139121 for the idea and the Levi’s Jeans were born.

Strauss expected the garments to sell fast, so he opened two factories in San Francisco to meet the demand. He was right: In the years to come, Levi Strauss & Co. flourished, and when Strauss died on September 26, 1902 at the age of 73, he left behind an inheritance worth six million dollars.

The headquarters to this day are still located in San Francisco, CA and the company is privately held by the descendants of Levi Strauss.

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