Jan Ernst Matzeliger was born in what is now Suriname to a white Dutch engineer and a black slave, in 1852.
At 19, he left his native land and worked as a sailor eventually settling in the U.S.
Matzeliger was good with his hands and mechanically inclined. He worked for a cobbler and developed a great interest in shoe-making. At the time, the upper part of a shoe had to be attached by handwork. Even expert "hand lasters" could only stitch together 50 shoes in a 10-hour work day. Shoes were very expensive.
After much trial and error, Matzeliger developed a shoe lasting machine and received a patent on his invention in 1883. Matzeliger continued to improve his design and two years later his machine could produce up to 700 pairs of shoes each day.
Matzeliger became ill from tuberculosis in 1886. He died in 1889 just 37-years-old. A Black Heritage Month stamp issued in 1991 commemorates his accomplishments.
