Who is jan e. matzeliger

In the summer of , he caught a cold then developed tuberculosis. Skip to content Jan E. Do you find this information helpful? A small donation would help us keep this accessible to all. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone!

Watson, E. Jan E. Jan served as an apprentice in a government machine shop supervised by his father. He developed an interest in machines, eventually becoming a skilled machinist. At the age of 19 he signed on as a seaman with the Dutch East IndiesCompany and went to sea.

He helped fix the engines on the steamship to whichhe was assigned. He spent two years sailing to the Far East, then came to North America with his ship. When his ship docked in Philadelphia in , Matzeliger left the Dutch East Indies Company and looked for work as a machinist in Philadelphia. In the s Philadelphia was a busy center of commerce, with many factoriesoffering opportunities to skilled machinists. Unfortunately, skilled jobs were not open to blacks in the segregated job market of the city.

Matzeliger wasalso hindered by the fact that he spoke little English, since Dutch was hisnative tongue. Eventually Matzeliger found a shoemaker's shop in Philadelphia, where he learned to use a McKay sole-sewing machine that sewed the seam of a shoe sole. Hebecame fascinated with the shoemaking process and was advised to go to Lynn,Massachusetts, the shoe manufacturing center of North America.

Matzeliger left his job in Philadelphia and arrived in Lynn on a winter day in The social climate for African-Americans in his new home made it difficult for Matzeliger to become established in the community. It took him quite some time to find a job in the shoe factories. Finally, Harney Brothers hired him to sew shoes on the familiar McKay sole-sewing machine.

While working, Matzeliger went to night school to improve his English. He was filled with a desireto learn more about machines. After some time, he managed to save enough money to buy a set of drawing instruments. He used these drawing tools to put hisideas for new kinds of machines down on paper.

He observed the automated process of shoemaking in the factory in which he worked. There were specializedmachines for each step of the process, except for the shoe-lasting operation. There were machines for upper work, stock fitting and bottoming, buttonholing and buffing. Each worker had his or her own part of the shoe to work on, and a machine to operate. Matzeliger also closely observed the final step of shoelasting. Most of the time, the shoe lasters could not keep up with the machines in the factory.

Thelasters had a strong union and were considered kings of the shoemaking trade. It was said they often worked slowly on purpose, and they often went on strike.

One day, Matzeliger said he could make a machine to do their job. His claim was greeted with skepticism. Matzeliger was determined to learn all he could in order to enable him to invent a shoe-lasting machine.

He requested a job as a millwright in the HarneyBrothers factory. His new job would be to circulate through the factory and check on, and repair, all of the machines.

The new position also gave him theopportunity to watch the lasters at work. He took a room in the old West Lynn Mission to work on his plans for a shoe-lasting machine in secret, because others were also trying to develop the samemachine. His machine could produce between to pairs of shoes a day, cutting shoe prices across the nation in half. He 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.

When a shoe was made by hand, in a day they would make 50 pairs of shoes. But when Jan created the shoe making machine, Jan made 7 pairs of shoes a day. His early death in Lynn, Massachusetts from tuberculosis meant he never saw the full profit of his invention. Jan Ernst Matzeliger's invention was perhaps "the most important invention for New England. Yet, because of the color of his skin, he was not mentioned in the history books until recently.

In recognition of his accomplishment, he was honored on a postage stamp on 15 September Kitts and Nevis St.

Lucia St. Site Map. Jan Ernst Matzeliger. Career In the early days of shoe making, shoes were made mainly by hand. Death and legacy He died at age 36 on 24 August We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, or if you would like to share additional information on the topic, kindly contact us!