Levi Strauss is the well-known inventor of the blue jean. Of German-Jewish descent, Levi immigrated to the United States (NYC) when he was 18 years old. The family maintained a dry goods store in New York, but decided to open a division on the west coast in San Francisco in 1853, during the booming years of the Gold Rush. Levi was serendipitously the family member picked to lead this effort. Three years later, Levi’s sister, husband and infant son would join him (her sons would inherit the business later, as Levi never married). A Reno, Nevada tailor of sturdy denim men’s work pants turned to Levi, one of his fabric suppliers, for help with his patent for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets. The men received the patent in 1873 and thus began the Levi Strauss & Co. Blue jeans are as American as baseball and apple pie.
