Strauss, Levi (c. 1830–1902)

German-born US clothing manufacturer. His ‘Levi's’, jeans, denim trousers originally developed for miners, were soon adopted as the work trousers for many in the West. From there they spread throughout the USA and eventually throughout the world.

Strauss originally went to New York City in 1847, then moved to San Francisco. When miners wanted a sturdy pair of trousers, he tried making them out of tent canvas; he then shifted to a cotton imported from France, serge de Nimes, which was known in America as ‘denim’. Dyed indigo blue, and with copper rivets at the stress points, these garments soon became known as ‘Levi's’.

He was born in Bavaria, Germany. At first he worked as a peddler. He began to sell cloth and soon opened a dry goods store with supplies shipped in by his brothers in New York. A bachelor, Strauss turned the business over to two nephews; one passed it on to his son-in-law, Walter Haas Sr., in whose family it has largely remained.