Inventor's name: Jan Ernest Matzeliger

Date of birth: Sept 15, 1852

Date of death: Aug 24, 1889-36 years old

Invention: He invented the first ever shoe making machine.
It could make up to 700 hundred pairs of shoes in a ten hour work day. Humans could only make 50. He first used cigar boxes and metal scraps to create his machine, but everyone always laughed at his idea. When it did work everyone wanted to buy the machine from him, but he said no. Finally in 1883 he got a patent to build his machine. He needed money to build the machine so he didn't live healthily in order to save up money and because of that he died in 1889 at the age of 36 due to his poor health.

5 interesting facts:
* First machines made out of cigar boxes.
* Never sold his designs for the machines, even when offered large amounts of money.
* In 1992 the US government made a stamp of Matzeliger.
* Gave Lynn, Massachusetts the title, "Shoe Capital Of The World"
* He started working with machines at the age of ten and continued until he died in 1889 at the age of 36.