Levi Strauss

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Levi Strauss

When the name Levi Strauss comes to mind, most people would probably

think of denim jeans or his company, Levi Strauss & Co. That’s because he invented the

first riveted pair of jeans and he started the first and largest manufacturer of denim jeans.

Levi Strauss was born on February 26, 1829 in Buttenheim, Bavaria what is now

known as Germany. In 1843, Strauss sailed from Bremerhaven to New York City to join

his two brothers, Jonas and Louis, who already had a successful wholesale textile and

tailoring business. After staying only a few days in New York, he decided to go to his

uncle’s ranch in Louisville, Kentucky. Strauss spent the next five years of his life there

learning English and the ways of the Americans, so he could take over his uncle’s ranch.

In 1853 he returned to New York and he also became an American citizen. After word

spread about the gold rush in California, Levi decided to travel west to San Francisco to

get rich. He did not have intentions of looking for gold, but instead he wanted to sell

supplies.

When Strauss arrived in San Francisco during March of 1853, he established a

wholesale dry-goods store that was located on 90 Sacramento Street. He began by selling

tents and wagon covers to the Forty-Niners, but he found no market in the products. So he

used the stout canvas that he brought with him to make very durable pants. The miners

found the pants very useful since they were always on the ground. Strauss named these

“durable pants” waist overalls. He soon began selling them as fast as he could make them.

In 1872, a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis wrote a letter suggesting they put rivets in the

jeans to reinforce the seams. In 1872, Strauss hired Jacob Davis and they began producing

riveted blue denim jeans and jackets.


Soon Strauss and Davis applied for a United States Patent on July 5,1...