Elias Howe - wikipedia Elias Howe This article is about the inventor of the sewing machine. For the music publisher and his company, see Elias Howe Company. Elias Howe Elias Howe Jr. ( 1819 - 07 - 09 ) July 9, 1819 Spencer, Massachusetts October 3, 1867 ( 1867 - 10 - 03 ) ( aged 48 ) Brooklyn, New York Nationality American Education apprenticed as mechanic and machinist Occupation Engineer Spouse ( s ) Elizabeth Jennings Ames ( m. 1841 ; d. 1850 ) Rose Halladay ( d. 1890 ) Children Jane Robinson Howe, Simon Ames Howe, Julia Maria Howe Parent ( s ) Elias Howe and Polly ( Bemis ) Howe Engineering career Discipline Mechanical Engineering Projects sewing machine Significant advance lockstitch loop method Awards Gold Medal, Paris Exposition of 1867, Légion d'honneur ( France ) Elias Howe Jr. ( / haʊ / ; July 9, 1819 -- October 3, 1867 ) was an American inventor best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Invention of sewing machine and career 3 Involvement in inventing the zipper 4 Later life and legacy 5 Genealogy 6 References 7 External links Early life and family Elias Howe Jr. was born on July 9, 1819 to Dr. Elias Howe Sr. and Polly ( Bemis ) Howe in Spencer, Massachusetts. Howe spent his childhood and early adult years in Massachusetts where he apprenticed in a textile factory in Lowell beginning in 1835. After mill closings due to the Panic of 1837, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to work as a mechanic with carding machinery, apprenticing along with his cousin Nathaniel P. Banks. Beginning in 1838, he apprenticed in the shop of Ari Davis, a master mechanic in Cambridge who specialized in the manufacture and repair of chronometers and other precision instruments. It was in the employ of Davis that Howe seized upon the idea of the sewing machine. He married Elizabeth Jennings Ames, daughter of Simon Ames and Jane B. Ames, on March 3, 1841 in Cambridge. They had three children : Jane Robinson Howe ( 1842 - 1912 ), Simon Ames Howe ( 1844 - 1883 ), and Julia Maria Howe ( 1846 - 1869 ). Invention of sewing machine and career Contrary to popular belief, Howe was not the first to conceive of the idea of a sewing machine. Many other people had formulated the idea of such a machine before him, one as early as 1790, and some had even patented their designs and produced working machines, in one case at least 80 of them. However, Howe originated significant refinements to the design concepts of his predecessors, and on September 10, 1846, he was awarded the first United States patent ( U.S. Patent 4,750 ) for a sewing machine using a lockstitch design. His machine contained the three essential features common to most modern machines : a needle with the eye at the point, a shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch, and an automatic feed. A possibly apocryphal account of how he came up with the idea for placing the eye of the needle at the point is recorded in a family history of his mother 's family : He almost beggared himself before he discovered where the eye of the needle of the sewing machine should be located. It is probable that there are very few people who know how it came about. His original idea was to follow the model of the ordinary needle, and have the eye at the heel. It never occurred to him that it should be placed near the point, and he might have failed altogether if he had not dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in a strange country. Just as in his actual working experience, he was perplexed about the needle 's eye. He thought the king gave him twenty - four hours in which to complete the machine and make it sew. If not finished in that time death was to be the punishment. Howe worked and worked, and puzzled, and finally gave it up. Then he thought he was taken out to be executed. He noticed that the warriors carried spears that were pierced near the head. Instantly came the solution of the difficulty, and while the inventor was begging for time, he awoke. It was 4 o'clock in the morning. He jumped out of bed, ran to his workshop, and by 9, a needle with an eye at the point had been rudely modeled. After that it was easy. That is the true story of an important incident in the invention of the sewing machine. Elias Howe 's Sewing Machine Elias Howe 's Sewing Machine U.S. Patent # 4,750 issued 10 September 1846 Elias Howe Sewing Machine September 10, 1846 Despite securing his patent, Howe had considerable difficulty finding investors in the United States to finance production of his invention, so his elder brother Amasa Bemis Howe traveled to England in October 1846 to seek financing. Amasa was able to sell his first machine for £ 250 to William Thomas of Cheapside, London, who owned a factory for the manufacture of corsets, umbrellas and valises. Elias and his family joined Amasa in London in 1848, but after business disputes with Thomas and failing health of his wife, Howe returned nearly penniless to the United States. His wife Elizabeth, who preceded Elias back to the United States, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts shortly after his return in 1849. Despite his efforts to sell his machine, other entrepreneurs began manufacturing sewing machines. Howe was forced to defend his patent in a court case that lasted from 1849 to 1854 because he found that Isaac Singer with cooperation from Walter Hunt had perfected a facsimile of his machine and was selling it with the same lockstitch that Howe had invented and patented. He won the dispute and earned considerable royalties from Singer and others for sales of his invention. Howe contributed much of the money he earned to providing equipment for the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War, in which Howe served as a Private in Company D. Due to his faltering health he performed light duty, often seen walking with the aid of his shillelagh, and took on the position of Regimental Postmaster, serving out his time riding to and from Baltimore with war news. He 'd enlisted August 14, 1862, and then mustered out July 19, 1865. Elias Howe Jr 's Shillelagh Elias Howe Jr 's Shillelagh he used during the Civil War ( R. Andre Stevens Civil War Collection ) An engraved Silver ID plaque Involvement in inventing the Zipper Howe received a patent in 1851 for an `` Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure ''. Perhaps because of the success of his sewing machine, he did not try to seriously market it, missing recognition he might otherwise have received. Later life and legacy Elias Howe Monument, sculpted by Salathiel Ellis ( 1873 ), Seaside Park ( Connecticut ). Between 1865 / 67, Elias established The Howe Machine Co. in Bridgeport, Connecticut that was operated by Elias 's sons - in - law, the Stockwell Brothers until about 1886. Between 1854 and 1871 / 72, Elias 's older brother, Amasa Bemis Howe, and later his son Benjamin Porter Howe, as Amasa died in 1868, owned and operated a factory in New York City manufacturing sewing machines under the name of The Howe Sewing Machine Co., which had won a gold medal at the London Exhibition of 1862. Then in 1873, B.P. Howe sold The Howe Sewing Machine Co. factory and name to The Howe Machine Co. which merged the two companies together. Elias 's sewing machine won a gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and that same year he was awarded the Légion d'honneur by Napoleon III for his invention. Howe died at age 48, on October 3, 1867, of gout and a massive blood clot. He was buried in Green - Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. His second wife, Rose Halladay, who died on October 10, 1890, is buried with him. Both Singer and Howe ended their days as multi-millionaires. Howe commemorative, 1940 Howe was commemorated with a 5 - cent stamp in the Famous American Inventors series issued October 14, 1940. In 2004 he was inducted into the United States National Inventors Hall of Fame. Genealogy This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( September 2017 ) Elias Howe in 1867 engraving for Harpers Weekly. Howe was a direct descendant of John Howe ( 1602 - 1680 ) who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 from Brinklow, Warwickshire, England and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Howe was also a descendant of Edmund Rice another early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony as follows : Elias Howe Jr., son of Elias Howe ( 1792 -- 1872 ), son of Elijah Howe Jr. ( 1768 -- 1816 ), son of Elijah Howe ( 1731 -- 1808 ), son of Jaazaniah Howe ( 1704 -- 1762 ), son of Deliverance Rice ( 1681 -- 1723 ), daughter of John Rice ( 1659 -- 1719 ), son of Deacon Edward Rice ( 1622 -- 1712 ), son of Deacon Edmund Rice ( 1594 -- 1663 ) Howe was a direct descendant of Richard Warren ( 1580 - 1628 ) who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony at Plymouth Rock in November 1620 on the `` Mayflower '' from Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, England and settled in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Elias Howe Jr., son of Elias Howe ( 1792 -- 1872 ), son of Elijah Howe Jr. ( 1768 -- 1816 ), son of Elijah Howe ( 1731 -- 1808 ), son of Abigail Warren ( 1705 - ) daughter of Rebecca Church ( 1678 - 1757 ) daughter of Caleb Church ( abt 1646 - before 1722 ) son of Elizabeth Warren ( abt 1616 - 1670 ) daughter of ( immigrant arrived on the `` Anne '' in 1623 ) Richard Warren ( 1580 - 1628 ) immigrant arrived on the `` Mayflower in 1620 and was the 12th signer of the `` Mayflower Compact '' Elias Howe was also 6th cousin 2 times removed of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ( 1882 - 1945 ) from FDR 's mother 's line. References ^ Jump up to : Elias Howe, National Inventors Hall of Fame ^ Jump up to : Edmund Rice ( 1638 ) Association, 2009. Descendants of Edmund Rice : The First Nine Generations. ( CD - ROM ) Jump up ^ `` A Brief History of the Sewing Machine ''. ISMACS International. Retrieved 22 May 2010. Jump up ^ Waln - Morgan Draper, Thomas, The Bemis History and Genealogy : Being an Account, in Greater Part, of the Descendants of Joseph Bemis of Watertown, Massachusetts, The Bemis History and Genealogy ( Washington ( District of Columbia ) : Library of Congress, ( 19 -- ) ), pp 159 - 162, 1357 Joshua Bemis, FHL Microfilm 1011936 Item 2. Jump up ^ `` Elias Howe Obituary ''. New York Times, 5 October 1867. October 5, 1867. Retrieved 8 Nov 2009. Jump up ^ `` Muster roll, Company D, 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry Regiment ''. Seventeenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry homepage. Archived from the original on 2008 - 07 - 20. Retrieved 9 Nov 2009. Jump up ^ Pro Patria : Civil War monument of Connecticut Archived 2007 - 10 - 16 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Zipper History ''. AnsunMultitech. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 08. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 22. Jump up ^ `` French Legion of Honor Recipients ''. NNDB - Biographic Data Base. Retrieved 9 Nov 2009. Jump up ^ Elias Howe, 19th Century Scientific American Online Archived 2007 - 03 - 20 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` 5 - cent Howe '', Arago : people, postage & the post, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, viewed September 28, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Who was Edmund Rice ? ''. The Edmund Rice ( 1638 ) Association, Inc. Retrieved 8 Nov 2009. Jump up ^ `` Elijah Howe ''. Edmund Rice ( 1638 ) Association. Retrieved 22 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` Elijah Howe ''. Edmund Rice ( 1638 ) Association. Retrieved 22 May 2010. External links Biography portal Elias Howe at Find a Grave Iles, George ( 1912 ), Leading American Inventors, New York : Henry Holt and Company, pp. 338 -- 369 Elias Howe Biography by Alex I. Askaroff `` Howe, Elias ''. Appletons ' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1892. `` Howe, Elias ''. Encyclopædia Britannica ( 11th ed. ). 1911. Sewing Techniques Basting Cut Darning Ease Embellishment Fabric tube turning Floating canvas Gather Godet Gusset Heirloom sewing Shirring Stitches List of sewing stitches Backstitch Bar tack Blanket Blind stitch Buttonhole Catch stitch Chain stitch Cross-stitch Embroidery stitch Hemstitch Lockstitch Overlock Pad stitch Pick stitch Rantering Running Sashiko Stoating Tack Topstitch Zigzag Seams Neckline Felled seam Seam allowance Style line Notions Trims Bias tape Collar stays Elastic Grommet / Eyelet Interfacing Passementerie Piping Ruffle Rickrack Self - fabric Soutache Trim Twill tape Wrights Closures Buckle Button Buttonhole Frog Hook - and - eye Hook and loop fastener Shank Snap Zipper Materials Bias Yarn / Thread Selvage Textiles / Fabrics Tools Bobbin Dress form Needlecase Needle threader Pattern notcher Pin Pincushion Pinking shears Scissors Seam ripper Sewing needle Stitching awl Tailor 's ham Tape measure Thimble Tracing paper Tracing wheel Trades Suppliers Cloth merchant Draper Dressmaker Haberdasher Mercer Sewing occupations Tailor Sewing machine manufacturers List of sewing machine brands and companies Barthélemy Thimonnier Bernina International Brother Industries Elias Howe Elna Feiyue Frister & Rossmann Janome Jones Sewing Machine Company Juki Merrow New Home Pfaff Sewmor Singer Tapemaster Viking / Husqvarna White Pattern manufacturers Butterick Burda Clothkits McCall 's Simplicity Glossary of sewing terms Hall of Fame for Great Americans John Adams John Quincy Adams Jane Addams Louis Agassiz Susan B. Anthony John James Audubon George Bancroft Clara Barton Henry Ward Beecher Alexander Graham Bell Daniel Boone Edwin Booth Louis Brandeis Phillips Brooks William Cullen Bryant Luther Burbank Andrew Carnegie George Washington Carver William Ellery Channing Rufus Choate Henry Clay Grover Cleveland James Fenimore Cooper Peter Cooper Charlotte Cushman James Buchanan Eads Thomas Alva Edison Jonathan Edwards Ralph Waldo Emerson David Farragut Stephen Foster Benjamin Franklin Robert Fulton Josiah W. Gibbs William C. Gorgas Ulysses S. Grant Asa Gray Alexander Hamilton Nathaniel Hawthorne Joseph Henry Patrick Henry Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Mark Hopkins Elias Howe Washington Irving Andrew Jackson Thomas J. Jackson Thomas Jefferson John Paul Jones James Kent Sidney Lanier Robert E. Lee Abraham Lincoln Henry Wadsworth Longfellow James Russell Lowell Mary Lyon Edward MacDowell James Madison Horace Mann John Marshall Matthew Fontaine Maury Albert A. Michelson Maria Mitchell James Monroe Samuel F.B. Morse William T.G. Morton John Lothrop Motley Simon Newcomb Barack Obama Thomas Paine Alice Freeman Palmer Francis Parkman George Peabody William Penn Edgar Allan Poe Walter Reed Franklin D. Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Augustus Saint - Gaudens William Tecumseh Sherman John Philip Sousa Joseph Story Harriet Beecher Stowe Gilbert Stuart Sylvanus Thayer Henry David Thoreau Mark Twain Lillian Wald Booker T. Washington George Washington Daniel Webster George Westinghouse James McNeill Whistler Walt Whitman Eli Whitney John Greenleaf Whittier Emma Willard Frances E. Willard Roger Williams Woodrow Wilson Orville Wright Wilbur Wright VIAF : 37696118 LCCN : nr93045047 ISNI : 0000 0000 5133 540X GND : 117535524 BNF : cb15860293v ( data ) SNAC : w6qz3t6r PIC : 300256 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elias_Howe&oldid=831195157 '' Categories : 1819 births 1867 deaths American inventors American mechanical engineers People from Spencer, Massachusetts People from Bridgeport, Connecticut People of Connecticut in the American Civil War Burials at Green - Wood Cemetery Hall of Fame for Great Americans inductees Engineers from Connecticut National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees Hidden categories : CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Webarchive template wayback links Articles with hCards Articles needing additional references from September 2017 All articles needing additional references Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with PIC identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Tools Asturianu Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Malagasy Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Português Română Русский Simple English Ślůnski Svenska தமிழ் Українська Winaray 17 more Edit links This page was last edited on 19 March 2018, at 08 : 51. 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Question: who is responsible for inventing the sewing machine
Answer: Elias Howe Jr.