For almost anyone in North America today, without Levi Strauss it is safe to say that your day to day fashion choices could be considered different. Although many consider Levi Strauss to be among the great Americans especially with blue jeans being thought of as being such an American item of apparel, he was actually born in the Bavarian province of Germany in 1829. It was not until his 18th year when he Moved to New York to join his brothers who had already opened a business in the city.
A Levi Strauss quiz will reveal that in 1853, Strauss, who had been working with his brothers in their dry goods store in New York, was asked by the family to expand their business to the west coast. Strauss chose to get to San Francisco by taking a ship through New York that would ail around the country, through Panama, and arrived in San Francisco nearly two months later. The company that he started in the city went under the name Levi Strauss & Co., a brand name still globally recognizable today.
Any Levi Strauss trivia expert will of course know that it is for manufacturing blue jeans that Strauss became famous, but what many do not know is that this came about as a result of a partnership with another man. It was Jacob Davis of Reno who came up with the idea of riveting the points of weakness in pants, such as the pockets, in order to create a more durable garment. Although the design was initially Davis', Strauss would provide an invaluable business partner finding a way to financially back the operation, obtain the fabric, file the patent, and begin mass manufacturing the jeans that are still the most recognizable brand of jean today.
A Levi Strauss quiz should also mention that in addition to his great contribution to the clothing world, Strauss was also a man who cared a great deal about others, and spent a great deal of time and money contributing to causes to aid and help the less Fortunate. Two notable causes that he supported was the protection of children from cruelty, and the support of victims of the great fire in Chicago. He was also a proponent of education and established several scholarships and Berkeley for those who lacked the funding to attend university otherwise. Strauss passed away in 1902; His business was inherited by his nephews.