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 5,1872 for their .
new clever idea. Their new patent, which was 139,121 was granted by the Untied States on .
