Matzeliger was born in Dutch Guiana, now Suriname. His father, Ernst Matzeliger, was a third generation Dutchman of German descent living in the Dutch Guiana capital city of Paramaribo. He owned and operated the Colonial Shipworks that had been in his family for three generations. His mother was a house slave of African descent; she lived on the plantation of which his father was the owner for a time. At the age of ten, Jan Matzeliger was apprenticed in the Colonial Ship Works in Paramaribo, where he demonstrated a natural aptitude for machinery and mechanics. He left Dutch Guiana at age 19, and worked as a mechanic on a Dutch East Indies merchant ship for several years before settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he first learned the shoe trade. By 1877, he spoke adequate English (Dutch was his native tongue) and moved to Massachusetts to pursue his interest in the shoe industry. He eventually went to work in the Harney Brothers Shoe factory.
In the early days of shoemaking, shoes were made mainly by hand. For proper fit, the customer's feet had to be duplicated in size and form by creating a stone or wooden mold called a "last" from which the shoes were sized and shaped. Since the greatest difficulty in shoemaking was the actual assembly of the soles to the upper shoe, it required great skill to tack and sew the two components together. It was thought that such intricate work could only be done by skilled human hands. As a result, this phase was not yet mechanized and shoe lasters held great power over the shoe industry. They would hold work stoppages without regard for their fellow workers' desires, resulting in long periods of unemployment for them.[1]
After five years of work, Matzeliger obtained a patent for his invention of an automated shoe laster in 1883.[2] A skilled hand laster could produce 50 pairs in a ten-hour day.[3] Matzeliger's machine could produce between 150 and 700 pairs of shoes a day, cutting shoe prices across the nation in half.[2]
Death and legacyedit
Matzeliger sacrificed his health working exhausting hours on his invention and not eating over long periods of time. He caught a cold which quickly developed into tuberculosis.[1] His early death in Lynn, Massachusetts from this disease meant he never saw the full profit of his invention. He died on August 24, 1889, three weeks shy of his 37th birthday.
Matzeliger's invention was perhaps "the most important invention for New England." His invention was "the greatest forward step in the shoe industry," according to the church bulletin of The First Church of Christ (the same church that took him as a member) as part of a commemoration held in 1967 in his honor. Yet, because of the color of his skin, he was not mentioned in the history books until recently.[1][4] In fact, contemporaries referred to him as the "Dutch nigger" and his machine as the "niggerhead laster,"[5][6] a term used in the apparel industry at the time for a certain type of fabric.[7]
A 29-cent US postal stamp was issued on September 15, 1991, in honor of Matzeliger. Designed by Barbara Higgins Bond, the stamp depicts Matzeliger and is a part of the Black Heritage Stamp Series.[8]
Patentsedit
274,207, 3/20/1883, Automatic method for lasting shoe[9]
421,954, 2/25/1890, Nailing machine
423,937, 3/25/1890, Tack separating and distributing mechanism
459,899, 9/22/1891, Lasting machine
415,726, 11/26/1899, Mechanism for distributing tacks, nails, etc.
^ abc. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
^ abLienhard, Jan H. "No. 522: Jan Matzeliger (transcript of radio show Engines of Our Ingenuity episode)". University of Houston. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
^Chamberlain, Gaius (23 March 2012). . The Black Inventor Online Museum. Adscape International, LLC. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
^Smeulders, Valika (2016-06-01), "Matzeliger, Jan Ernst", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.74508, ISBN978-0-19-530173-1
^Kaplan, Sidney (January 1955). "Jan Earnst Matzeliger and the Making of the Shoe". The Journal of Negro History. 40 (1): 8–33. doi:10.2307/2715446. ISSN 0022-2992. JSTOR 2715446. S2CID 149459743.
^Tortora, Phyllis G.; Johnson, Ingrid (2013). The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles (8th ed.). New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 414. ISBN9781609015350.
^"Arago: 1991 Black Heritage Series: Jan E. Matzeliger Issue". arago.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
ernst, matzeliger, september, 1852, august, 1889, surinamese, american, inventor, whose, automated, lasting, machine, brought, significant, change, manufacturing, shoes, united, shoe, machinery, corporation, company, founded, make, shoe, making, devices, 1885b. Jan Ernst Matzeliger September 15 1852 August 24 1889 was a Surinamese American inventor whose automated lasting machine brought significant change to the manufacturing of shoes The United Shoe Machinery Corporation company was founded to make his shoe making devices Jan Ernst MatzeligerJan Ernst Matzeliger in 1885Born 1852 09 15 15 September 1852Paramaribo SurinamDied24 August 1889 1889 08 24 aged 36 Lynn Massachusetts U S Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Death and legacy 2 Patents 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiography edit nbsp Lasting machineMatzeliger was born in Dutch Guiana now Suriname His father Ernst Matzeliger was a third generation Dutchman of German descent living in the Dutch Guiana capital city of Paramaribo He owned and operated the Colonial Shipworks that had been in his family for three generations His mother was a house slave of African descent she lived on the plantation of which his father was the owner for a time At the age of ten Jan Matzeliger was apprenticed in the Colonial Ship Works in Paramaribo where he demonstrated a natural aptitude for machinery and mechanics He left Dutch Guiana at age 19 and worked as a mechanic on a Dutch East Indies merchant ship for several years before settling in Philadelphia Pennsylvania where he first learned the shoe trade By 1877 he spoke adequate English Dutch was his native tongue and moved to Massachusetts to pursue his interest in the shoe industry He eventually went to work in the Harney Brothers Shoe factory In the early days of shoemaking shoes were made mainly by hand For proper fit the customer s feet had to be duplicated in size and form by creating a stone or wooden mold called a last from which the shoes were sized and shaped Since the greatest difficulty in shoemaking was the actual assembly of the soles to the upper shoe it required great skill to tack and sew the two components together It was thought that such intricate work could only be done by skilled human hands As a result this phase was not yet mechanized and shoe lasters held great power over the shoe industry They would hold work stoppages without regard for their fellow workers desires resulting in long periods of unemployment for them 1 After five years of work Matzeliger obtained a patent for his invention of an automated shoe laster in 1883 2 A skilled hand laster could produce 50 pairs in a ten hour day 3 Matzeliger s machine could produce between 150 and 700 pairs of shoes a day cutting shoe prices across the nation in half 2 Death and legacy edit Matzeliger sacrificed his health working exhausting hours on his invention and not eating over long periods of time He caught a cold which quickly developed into tuberculosis 1 His early death in Lynn Massachusetts from this disease meant he never saw the full profit of his invention He died on August 24 1889 three weeks shy of his 37th birthday Matzeliger s invention was perhaps the most important invention for New England His invention was the greatest forward step in the shoe industry according to the church bulletin of The First Church of Christ the same church that took him as a member as part of a commemoration held in 1967 in his honor Yet because of the color of his skin he was not mentioned in the history books until recently 1 4 In fact contemporaries referred to him as the Dutch nigger and his machine as the niggerhead laster 5 6 a term used in the apparel industry at the time for a certain type of fabric 7 A 29 cent US postal stamp was issued on September 15 1991 in honor of Matzeliger Designed by Barbara Higgins Bond the stamp depicts Matzeliger and is a part of the Black Heritage Stamp Series 8 Patents edit274 207 3 20 1883 Automatic method for lasting shoe 9 421 954 2 25 1890 Nailing machine 423 937 3 25 1890 Tack separating and distributing mechanism 459 899 9 22 1891 Lasting machine 415 726 11 26 1899 Mechanism for distributing tacks nails etc See also editUnited Shoe Machinery CorporationReferences edit a b c Now Everyone Can Afford Decent Shoes Archived from the original on August 21 2012 Retrieved December 5 2012 a b Lienhard Jan H No 522 Jan Matzeliger transcript of radio show Engines of Our Ingenuity episode University of Houston Retrieved 10 November 2017 Chamberlain Gaius 23 March 2012 Jan Matzeliger The Black Inventor Online Museum Adscape International LLC Archived from the original on 19 February 2012 Retrieved 10 November 2017 Jan Ernst Matzeliger Lasting Machine Lemelson MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Retrieved 29 February 2016 Smeulders Valika 2016 06 01 Matzeliger Jan Ernst African American Studies Center Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acref 9780195301731 013 74508 ISBN 978 0 19 530173 1 Kaplan Sidney January 1955 Jan Earnst Matzeliger and the Making of the Shoe The Journal of Negro History 40 1 8 33 doi 10 2307 2715446 ISSN 0022 2992 JSTOR 2715446 S2CID 149459743 Tortora Phyllis G Johnson Ingrid 2013 The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Textiles 8th ed New York NY Bloomsbury Academic p 414 ISBN 9781609015350 Arago 1991 Black Heritage Series Jan E Matzeliger Issue arago si edu Retrieved 2019 10 23 Thirds to melville S External links editEngineering and Technology Jan Matzeliger Encyclopaedia Britannica s Guide to Black History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jan Ernst Matzeliger amp oldid 1204432221, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
