On September 10th 1846 Elias Howe Jr was granted a patent for the sewing machine.
However, I am fascinated by the story he told of how he came up with the invention.
He claimed it came to him in a dream!
Basically, he dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in a strange country.
As he was in real life, he was baffled about the needle’s eye.
In his dream the king gave him twenty-four hours in which to complete the machine and make it sew or his death would result. He worked, toiled, puzzled, then finally gave up. The king then took him out to be executed.
While standing, terrified, waiting to die, he noticed that the warriors carried spears that were pierced near the head. Instantaneously, he saw the solution and woke up!
It was 4 o’clock in the morning. He jumped out of bed, ran to his workshop, and by 9 o’clock he had crudely created a needle with an eye at the point. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s what
makes History fun
For more about him click on:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elias-Howe
https://historycambridge.org/articles/elias-howe-jr-sewing-machine/
https://www.thoughtco.com/elias-howe-profile-1991903
© Tony Dalton