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Thisnis the guy who is often called “the inventor of the sewingnmachine.”
Thisnis the guy who is often called “the inventor of the sewingnmachine.”n
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nButnhe didn’t precisely invent the sewing machine.
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Bornnon this date in 1819, Howe may have seen and used others’ sewingnmachine inventions—one was invented as early as 1790, almost 20nyears before Howe was born!—but Howe made a great many improvementsnto others’ designs. In 1846 he was awarded the first United Statesnpatent for a sewing machine (others had patented their inventions innother countries, apparently earlier than Howe). n
Bornnon this date in 1819, Howe may have seen and used others’ sewingnmachine inventions—one was invented as early as 1790, almost 20nyears before Howe was born!—but Howe made a great many improvementsnto others’ designs. In 1846 he was awarded the first United Statesnpatent for a sewing machine (others had patented their inventions innother countries, apparently earlier than Howe). nn
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nHoweninvented three things still used in most modern machines:
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nan needle with the eye at the point
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nan shuttle operating beneath the cloth to form the lock stitch
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nann automatic feed
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nAnninventor named Walter Hunt had apparently invented a sewing machinenwithout all of these advances about a decade before Howe’s invention.nBut he didn’t get a patent, and he didn’t move to manufacture hisnmachine, because he feared that his invention would causenunemployment for seamstresses. n
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WhennHowe patented his own sewing machine and tried to manufacture it,nsomehow Walter Hunt hooked up with a man named Isaac Singer. Hunt wasnable to make a replica of Howe’s sewing machine, and Singernmanufactured and sold a lot of sewing machines! (“Singer” isnstill one of the biggest names in sewing machines.) Since Singer wasnselling machines with Howe’s patented inventions, Howe sued Singernand, after a looooong (6 year) trial, was awarded thousands ofndollars in back royalties. Then Howe went on to negotiate getting anfive-dollar royalty for each sewing machine manufactured in the U.S.nand one dollar for each sold elsewhere. That earned him millions!
WhennHowe patented his own sewing machine and tried to manufacture it,nsomehow Walter Hunt hooked up with a man named Isaac Singer. Hunt wasnable to make a replica of Howe’s sewing machine, and Singernmanufactured and sold a lot of sewing machines! (“Singer” isnstill one of the biggest names in sewing machines.) Since Singer wasnselling machines with Howe’s patented inventions, Howe sued Singernand, after a looooong (6 year) trial, was awarded thousands ofndollars in back royalties. Then Howe went on to negotiate getting anfive-dollar royalty for each sewing machine manufactured in the U.S.nand one dollar for each sold elsewhere. That earned him millions!n
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nAlsonon this date:
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nIndependence Day in Argentina
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nAnniversary of the settling of Romanov rumors through DNA testing