Brandeis, Louis D.
Lehman, Herbert H.
Levy, Uriah P.
Magnes, Judah L.
Santangel, Luis de
Seixas, Gershom M.
Singer, Isaac B.
Straus, Isidor & Ida
Torres, Luis de
by Hal Reed (1979), Levi Strauss, Clothing manufacturer.
was 17 years old when he emigrated from Bavaria to New York in
1847. He worked for his two brothers, peddling clothing and household
items throughout towns and villages in rural New York and Kentucky.
Spurred by exciting tales of opportunities for instant wealth
in the Gold Rush country in California, Strauss sailed to San
Francisco on a clipper ship in 1850, loaded with canvas for tents
and wagons. But after a short visit to the gold country, he realized
there was a better use for the durable material. He took his unsold
canvas to a tailor and had them fashioned into overalls. He later
switched from canvas to a tough cotton fabric loomed in Nimes,
France ... called serge de Nimes (e.g. denim).
In the 1860s
Jacob Davis, a tailor in Carson City, Nevada, began riveting the
pocket corners on miner's pants for added strength. Strauss liked
the idea, and jointly with Davis applied for a patent, which was
granted in 1873.
a very generous man; in 1897 he contributed 28 perpetual scholarships
to the University of California. Upon his death in 1902, he bequeathed
tens of thousands of dollars to charitable institutions such as
the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, Home for Aged Israelites, as
well as to Roman Catholic and Protestant orphanages.
War II, Levi'sŪ were declared an essential commodity and were
sold only to people engaged in defense work. Following the war,
there was such an overwhelming demand for Levi'sŪ that deliveries
had to be rationed for almost two years. Today Levi Strauss &
Co. is the largest apparel manufacturer in the world. The company's
motto "Everyone knows his first name" refers to the fact that
Levi'sŪ has entered the world's vocabulary as a generic term for
(Extracted from a brochure published by Levi Strauss
& Co., San Francisco.)
Here to Take Levi Strauss Quiz
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