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#BlackHistoryMonth – Famous footsteps of first shoemaker Matzeliger
Article by February 12, 2021
Whenever one puts on a pair of shoes, one should undoubtedly remember the name Jan Ernst Matzeliger.
Matzeliger was born on September 15, 1852, in Paramaribo, Suriname known at the time as Dutch Guiana. Matzeliger’s father was a well-to-do Dutch engineer, and his mother was Surinamese. Showing mechanical aptitude at a young age, Matzeliger began working in machine shops supervised by his father at the age of 10. At 19, he left Suriname to see the world as a sailor on an East Indian merchant ship. In 1873, he settled in Philadelphia.
After settling in the United States, Matzeliger worked for several years to learn English. As a dark-skinned man, his professional options were limited, and he struggled to make a living in Philadelphia. In 1877, Matzeliger moved to Lynn, Massachusetts, to seek work in the town’s rapidly growing shoe industry. He found a positio