Black History Month: African Americans who changed the Tech....No Shoe World: Jan Matzeliger

One thing that I have never been able to understand is women's obsession with shoes.  I know some ladies that have a pair of shoes for every hour of the day, women that have a room dedicated to the the hundreds of shoes they own.  They even have their own bartering system where they trade and rent out to each other while still keeping the online shoe vendors in business.  I know I have been giving African American's who have changed the tech world, but with the ladies I know, I couldn't pass up this up.

So, who is one of the people we can thank for this? Jan Matzeliger.  If it wasn't for him women all over the world wouldn't have the closets and rooms fool of shoes that they have now.  (Yes, some fellas too)  In 1883 Matzeliger received a patent for his machine that could produce 150 to 700 pairs of shoes a day, cutting shoe prices across the nation in half.   You see before no machine could attach the upper part of a shoe to the sole and it had to be done by hand; so only 50 pairs of shoes could be made in a 10 hour day. His invention was the greatest step forward in the shoe industry.  Because of the color of his skin; he wasn't recognized for his accomplishments till much later. On September 15, 1991 he was honored on a postage stamp.  Matzeliger worked
exhausting hours on his machine.  He didn't eat for long periods of time and he then got tuberculosis.  He died at the age of 37 on August 24, 1887, so he never got to see the full profit of his invention.

Wow, so ladies next time your own shoe dazzle remember Jan Matzeliger.  Yeah, yeah before yall jump on me, fellas too, even though personally all I need is a few pair of shoes to get through life, ha.
Sorry, I will never understand, lol.

Know Your history.