Elias Howe

Elias Howe ( born July 9, 1819 in Spencer, Massachusetts, † October 3, 1867 in Brooklyn ) was an American manufacturer and inventor.

Howe worked from 1835 to 1837 in a cotton factory to Lowell, then in Cambridge and Boston, where he was with the previous attempts to construct a viable sewing machine, the two-thread sewing machine, known. With this machine, he made 300 stitches per minute. Seamstresses sewed in contrast, only 50 stitches per minute. Before that, other tinkerers had constructed machines, their weaknesses and the high price prevented the industrial use. The machine cost $ 300 of Howe, a steep price, the tailors could not pay. In addition, she managed only straight seams, everything else still had to be hand sewn.

He then pursued the goal to improve the machine, introduced the single pointed needle that has the eye very close to their head, they only let her go to just above the eye in the substance and form a loop at its decline, by having Help the boat ( which had already been used Hunt before him) a second thread was made.

From his friend Fisher supported with funds, he completed this machine in 1845 and had them patented in 1846 in America. His brother Amasa Howe went to the machine to London and sold them to William Thomas, who realized their true value and they had provided in 1846 with an English patent.

Howe, who in America had no success, tried his luck in England in vain, returned back to America in 1850 and erected in New York a small workshop. Meanwhile, Singer had taken in New York with substantial shared use Howe's construction of a patent on which has since spread under his name system; Howe learned of this, and succeeded to win in a multi-year lawsuit against Singer. From now on, flourished his factory. Later, Howe joined as a soldier in the U.S. Army. When he died in Brooklyn on October 3, 1867, with only 48 years, he left a very large fortune. 1870 were 75 156 machines built according to Howes system.

1965 dedicated to him the Beatles their movie Hi- Hi- help!

Sewing machine Howe

Emblem on the sewing machine Howe