Portrait of Isaac Merritt Singer by Edward Harrison May (1869).

Isaac Merritt Singer (October 26, 1811 – July 23, 1875) was an inventor, actor, and entrepreneur. He made important improvements in the design of the sewing machine and was the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.^[1] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (460x624, 41 KB) Summary Edward Harrison May (1824-1887), Oil on canvas, 1869 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Singer Company. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (460x624, 41 KB) Summary Edward Harrison May (1824-1887), Oil on canvas, 1869 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the Singer Company. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the US Federal Agent designation, see Special agent. ... is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Inventor (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... Elias Howes lockstitch machine, invented 1845 A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. ... A Singer treadle sewing machine Singer Corporation is a United States of America manufacturer of sewing machines, first established as I.M. Singer & Co. ...

Biography

Early years

Isaac Singer was born in Pittstown, New York, on October 27, 1811. He was the last born child of Adam Singer and his first wife, Ruth Benson. Isaac's father may have been a German immigrant from Saxony whose surname at birth was Reisinger and some sources indicate he may have been of Jewish descent. Pittstown is a town located in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 5,644. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the US Federal Agent designation, see Special agent. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

Isaac was married for the first time in 1830, to Catharine Maria Haley. After, they moved from Pittstown to New York City in about 1831, where they seem to have lived with her parents for a time. By the summer of 1833 they had again moved, this time to Otsego County, New York. Isaac had worked in his older brother's machine shop before marriage and learnt the machinists trade there; in Otsego in the village of Fly Creek Isaac was again working in a machine shop, this time owned by George Pomeroy. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1833 (MDCCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Otsego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. ...

Isaac had two children by Catharine: William, born in 1834, and Lillian, born in 1837. In 1835 he moved with Catherine and their young son William to New York City, working in a press shop. In 1836, he left the city as an agent for a company of players, touring through Baltimore, where he met Mary Ann Sponsler, to who he proposed marriage. He returned with Mary Ann to New York in 1837. That year Isaac had two children born: his wife Catherine gave him Lillian, and Mary Ann gave him a son. His domestic life with Catharine did not prosper after this, but they were not officially divorced until 1860. Year 1834 (MDCCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Baltimore redirects here. ... Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ...

After Mary Ann arrived in New York and found out that Singer was already married, she and Singer returned to Baltimore, presenting themselves as a married couple.

First inventions

In 1839 Singer obtained his first patent, for a machine to drill rock, selling it for $2,000. This was more money than he had ever had before, and in the face of financial success, he opted to return to his career as an actor. He went on tour, forming a troupe known as the "Merritt Players", and appearing onstage under the name "Isaac Merritt", with Mary Ann also appearing onstage, calling herself "Mrs. Merritt". The tour lasted about five years. 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...

In 1844 Isaac took a job in a print shop in Fredericksburg, Ohio, but moved quickly on to Pittsburgh in 1846 to set up a woodshop for making wood type and signage. Here he developed and patented a "machine for carving wood and metal" on April 10, 1849. Jan. ... For the Warren County place of that name see Fredericksburg. ... Pittsburgh redirects here. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1849 (MDCCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

At thirty-eight years old, with two wives and eight children, he packed up his family and moved back to New York City, hoping to market his wood-block cutting machine there. He obtained an advance to build a working prototype, and constructed one in the shop of A. B. Taylor & Co. However not long after the machine was built the steam boiler blew up at the shop, destroying the prototype. Before it was destroyed, Orson C. Phelps, owner of a machine shop in Boston had heard about it. He invited Singer to set up one of his machines in there. Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ...

Singer went to Boston in 1850 to set up machine the at Phelps' machine shop. Orders for Singer's wood cutting machine were not, however, forthcoming. Coincidentally Lerow and Blodgett sewing machines were being constructed in Phelps' machine shop. Phelps asked Singer to look at the sewing machines, which were difficult to use and difficult to produce. Singer noted that the sewing machine would be more reliable if the shuttle moved in a straight line rather than a circle, with a straight rather than a curved needle. Singer was able to obtain US Patent number 8294 on his improvements on August 12, 1851. Singer's prototype sewing machine became the first to work in a practical way. For the game, see: 1850 (board game) 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Elias Howes lockstitch machine, invented 1845 A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric or other material together with thread. ...

Singer obtained financing from George B. Zieber, and formed a partnership with Phelps and Zieber to found the "Jenny Lind Sewing Machine Company", named for the opera singer Jenny Lind. The company was soon renamed to as "I. M. Singer & Co.", and the machine became known as a Singer. First U.S.Daguerrotype of Jenny Lind in New York, September 14, 1850 taken by her Swedish classmate, Poly Von Schneidau from Chicago, at the Mathew Brady Studio in New York City. ...

Sewing machine design

Singer sewing machine (detail 1)

Singer sewing machine (detail 2)

Singer did not invent the sewing machine, and never claimed to have done so. By 1850, when Singer saw his first sewing machine, it had been "invented" four times. All sewing machines before Walter Hunt's produced a chain stitch, which had the disadvantage of easily unravelling. Hunt's machine produced a lock stitch, as did all subsequent machines including Lerow and Blodgett's, which Singer in turn improved in Phelps's shop. Elias Howe independently developed a sewing machine and obtained a patent on September 10, 1846. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1792x1528, 432 KB) Beschrijving Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Sewing machine Isaac Singer ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1792x1528, 432 KB) Beschrijving Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Sewing machine Isaac Singer ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1624x1712, 568 KB) Beschrijving Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Sewing machine Isaac Singer ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1624x1712, 568 KB) Beschrijving Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Sewing machine Isaac Singer ... Walter Hunt (1796 - 1859) was an American mechanic, who lived and worked in New York State. ... In sewing and embroidery, a chain stitch is a series of looped stitches that form a chain. ... The lockstitch is the mechanical stitch most commonly made by a sewing machine. ... Elias Howe Elias Howe (July 9, 1819 – October 3, 1867) was an American inventor and sewing machine pioneer. ...

War broke out between Howe and Singer, with each claiming patent primacy. Singer set out to discover that Howe's improvements had been reinventions of existing technology, and found one of Hunt's old machines, which indeed created a lock-stitch with a shuttle. Hunt applied in 1853 for a patent, claiming priority to Howe's patent, issued some seven years earlier. A lawsuit, Hunt v. Howe, came to trial in 1854, and was resolved in Howe's favor. Howe then brought suit to stop Singer from selling Singer machines, and protracted litigation ensued. 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1854 (MDCCCLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

I. M. Singer & Co

In 1856, manufacturers Grover, Baker, Singer, Wheeler, and Wilson, all accusing the others of patent infringement, met in Albany, New York to pursue their suits. Orlando B. Potter, a lawyer and president of the Grover and Baker Company, proposed that, rather than sue their profits out of existence, they pool their patents. This was the first patent pool, a process which enables production of complicated machines without legal battles over patent rights. They agreed to form the Sewing Machine Combination, but for this to be of any use they had to secure the cooperation of Elias Howe, who still held certain vital uncontested patents which meant he received a royalty on every sewing machine manufactured by any company. Terms were arranged, and Howe joined on. Sewing machines began to be mass produced: I. M. Singer & Co manufactured 2,564 machines in 1856, and 13,000 in 1860 at a new shop on Mott Street in New York. 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... For other uses, see Albany. ... In intellectual property (IP) law, a patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to cross-license patents and other IP rights relating to a particular technology. ... A busy scene on Mott Street Mott Street is a narrow but busy thoroughfare that runs in a north-south direction in downtown Manhattan. ...

Sewing machines had until now been industrial machines, made for tailors, but smaller machines began to be marketed for home use. I. M. Singer expanded into the European market, establishing a factory in Clydebank, near Glasgow, controlled by the parent company, becoming one of the first American-based multinational corporations, with agencies in Paris and Rio de Janeiro. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Clydebank (Bruach Chluaidh in Gaelic) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, lying on the north bank of the river Clyde. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... multinational corporation (or transnational corporation) (MNC/TNC) is a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... This article is about the Brazilian city. ...

Financial success

The financial success gave Singer the ability to buy a mansion on Fifth Avenue, into which he moved his second family. In 1860, he divorced Catherine, on the basis of her adultery with Stephen Kent. He continued to live with Mary Ann, until she spotted him driving down Fifth Avenue seated beside one Mary McGonigal, an employee, about whom Mary Ann had well-founded suspicions, for by this time Mary McGonigal had borne Isaac Singer five children. The surname Matthews was used for this family. Mary Ann (still calling herself Mrs. I. M. Singer) had her husband arrested for bigamy. Singer was let out on bond and, disgraced, fled to London in 1862, taking Mary McGonigal with him. In the aftermath, another of Isaac's families was discovered: he had a "wife" Mary Eastwood Walters and daughter Alice Eastwood in Lower Manhattan, who both adopted the surname "Merritt". By 1860, Isaac had fathered and recognized eighteen children (sixteen of them remaining alive), by four women. Street sign at Fifth Avenue and East 57th street Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New York City. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... This article is about the act of adultery. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Woolworth Building, looking south along Broadway Lower Manhattan, from the Brooklyn Bridge, 2005 Rigid airship the USS Akron over Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. ...

With Isaac in London, Mary Ann began setting about securing a financial claim to his assets by filing documents detailing his infidelities, claiming that though she had never been formally married to Isaac, that they were in fact wed under Common Law (by living together for seven months after Isaac had been divorced from his first wife Catherine). Eventually a settlement was made, but no divorce was granted. However, she asserted that she was free to marry, and indeed married John E. Foster. Isaac, meanwhile, had renewed acquaintance with Isabella Eugenie Boyer, a Frenchwoman he had lived with in Paris when he was staying there in 1860. She left her husband, and married Isaac under the name of Isabella Eugenie Sommerville, on June 13, 1863, while she was pregnant. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Isabella Eugenie Boyer Isabella Eugenie Boyer (1841—1904) was born in Paris to French and English parents. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Final years in Europe

Singer's grave in Torquay Cemetery

In 1863, I. M. Singer & Co. was dissolved by mutual consent, with the business continued as "The Singer Manufacturing Company," enabling the reorganization of financial and management responsibilities. Singer no longer actively participated in the firm's day-to-day management, but served as a member of the Board of Trustees (even though he now lived in Europe) and was a major stockholder. This article is about the English town. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

He now began to increase his new family: he would eventually have six children with his wife Isabella. Unable, probably because of Isaac's chequered marital past, to enter New York society, the family emigrated to Paris, never to return to the United States. Fleeing the Franco-Prussian War, they resided first in London, then in Paignton, (near Torquay) on the Devon coast where he built a large house, Oldway Mansion. He brought some of his other children to live there. Nine days after the wedding of his daughter Alice Merritt to William Alonso Paul La Grove, Isaac Singer died of "an affection of the heart and inflammation of the wind-pipe." He was interred in Torquay cemetery. Combatants Second French Empire North German Confederation allied with South German states (later German Empire) Commanders Napoleon III François Achille Bazaine Patrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta Otto von Bismarck Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Strength 400,000 at wars beginning 1,200,000 Casualties 150,000... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Paignton harbour , Paignton (IPA: ) is a coastal town in Devon in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the English town. ... For other uses, see Devon (disambiguation). ... Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon. ... The heart and lungs, from an older edition of Grays Anatomy. ...

Estate and legacy; his families after his death

Singer left an estate of about $14,000,000 and two wills disposing this between his family members, leaving some out for various reasons. Suits followed, with Mary Anne claiming to be the legitimate "Mrs. Singer". In the end Isabella was declared the legal widow. Isabella remarried in 1879 with Dutch musician Victor Reubsaet and settled in Paris. After his death in 1887, she remarried in 1891 with Paul Sohège. This article is about the capital of France. ...

Isaac's 18th child Winnaretta Singer married Prince Louis de Scey-Montbéliard in 1887, when she was 22. After annulment of this marriage in 1891, she married Prince Edmond de Polignac in 1893. She would become a prominent patron of French avant-garde music, e.g., Erik Satie composed his Socrate as one of her commissions (1918). As a lesbian she became involved with Violet Trefusis from 1923 on. Another of Isaac's daughters, Isabelle-Blanche (born 1869) married Jean, duc Decazes (Daisy Fellowes was their daughter). Isabelle committed suicide in 1896. A brother to Winnaretta and Isabelle, Paris Singer, had a child by Isadora Duncan. Another brother, Washington Singer, became a substantial donor to the University College of the southwest of England, which later became the University of Exeter; one of the university's buildings is named in his honour. Winnaretta Singer [1] (8 January 1865-26 November 1943), Princess Edmond de Polignac, was an important musical patron, lesbian, and heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. ... Year 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Prince Edmond Melchior Jean Marie de Polignac (19 April 1834 - 8 August 1901) was a French composer. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Generally, patronage is the act of supporting or favoring some person, group, or institution. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Selfportrait of Erik Satie. ... Socrate is a work for voice and small orchestra (or piano) by Erik Satie. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... This article is about same-sex desire and sexuality among women. ... Violet Keppel Trefusis [1] [2] [3] (June 6, 1894 – February 29, 1972) was an English writer and socialite. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Jean-Élie-Octave-Louis-Sévère-Amanien, 3rd Duke Decazes and Duke of Glücksbierg (April 30, 1864 - August 31, 1912) was a French aristocrat and sportsman. ... Marguerite Séverine Philippine Decazes de Glücksbierg (April 29, 1890-December 13, 1962), better known as Daisy Fellowes, was a celebrated 20th-century society figure, acclaimed beauty, minor novelist and poet, erstwhile editor of Harpers Bazaar, fashion icon, and an heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... Isadora Duncan Isadora Duncan (May 27, 1877 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer. ... Washington Merritt Grant Singer (1866-1934) was a English philanthropist and prominent racehorse owner. ... University College can refer to several institutions: in Canada University College, University of Toronto University College of the North, The Pas, Manitoba University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, British Columbia, merged with British Columbia Open University and renamed Thompson Rivers University Kings University College (Edmonton), Alberta in England University... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The University of Exeter (usually abbreviated as Exon. ...

References

1. ^ Все о швейных машинах -История создания корпорации Зингер

• Brandon, Ruth, Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance, Kodansha International, New York, 1977.
• ISAAC MERRITT SINGER, detailed biography (in German)
• Isaac Merritt Singer detailed biography (in English)