Blue Jeans - History of Blue Jeans

The blue jeans we know and love were invented by Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss, who patented their design in 1873. Levi Strauss lived in San Francisco, California, and ran a store that sold a variety of goods, including cloth. Jacob Davis lived in Reno, Nevada, and was a tailor who often bought tough cotton cloth from Strauss.

Davis had an idea to make pants for working people that would last a long time without tearing. He began using copper rivets to reinforce the places that pants tended to rip. He wrote to Strauss, and asked if he would partner with him to patent the design. They chose sturdy denim fabric for their pants, and they became popular with cowboys, miners, railroad workers, and anyone else who needed a tough pair of pants.