Dennis Karwatka

Struggling alone and told that it was impossible by industry experts, Jan Matzeliger, a poor black immigrant, devised a machine that revolutionized the shoemaking industry in the 1880s and cut shoe prices in half.

A poor immigrant scrounged materials from junkyards to invent a device that worked five times faster than lasting by hand, making shoes affordable for millions

Jan Matzeliger, a poor black immigrant, struggled alone to become an inventor and in the early 1880s succeeded in devising a machine that revolutionized the industry