Jan Ernst Matzelinger
(1852-1889)
Jan Ernst Matzelinger was born in 1852 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch Guinea), South America. His father was a Dutch engineer and a native black Surinamese woman.
Coming to America in 1871 he had little education and spoke little English. Being known as a former sailor, when word got out that he was developing a machine that automatically make's shoes, they said "it cant be done". The best lasters spent thousands of dollars trying to develop such a machine.