#17: Jan Ernst Matzeliger – Shoe Lasting Machine
Jan Ernst Matzeliger made it possible for working-class Americans to afford a decent pair of shoes. Born in Dutch Guiana in 1852, Matzeliger invented a machine that automated “lasting,” the most difficult step in shoemaking where the upper is attached to the sole. A skilled worker could last about 50 pairs of shoes a day. Matzeliger’s machine, patented in 1883, could produce up to 700 pairs in the same amount of time. The invention slashed the price of shoes by half and helped build the modern American shoe industry. Tragically, Matzeliger died of tuberculosis in 1889 at just 37, too young to see the full impact of his world-changing machine.
