Gideon Sundback

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gideon Sundbäck (1880 - 1954) was a Canadian (Swedish-born) inventor. He invented the modern zipper in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada in 1913. His invention was based upon the previous work of other engineers such as Elias Howe, Max Wolff, and Whitcomb Judson (whose daughter Sundback married). The patent was issued in 1917 under the name separable fastener. The name zipper was created by B.F. Goodrich who used the device on their new boots. Initially boots and tobacco pouches were the primary use for zippers and it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion industry. Gideon Sundback also invented the manufacturing machine for zippers. The zipper beat the button in 1937 for the usage of the "fly" in trousers.