In this article
Few everyday objects took as long to get right. The zipper needed about 60 years to become practical, and more time still before clothing makers trusted it. Here is the story in brief, with the dates checked against patents and company records where we could.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1851 | Elias Howe receives a US patent for a garment fastening (No. 8,540). |
| 1893 | Whitcomb Judson patents his sliding clasp locker for shoes (No. 504,038). |
| 1913 | Sundback's toothed design goes on sale (1914 in some accounts). |
| 1917 | Sundback's "Separable Fastener" patent is granted (No. 1,219,881). |
| 1923 | B.F. Goodrich sells "Zipper Boots" and the name spreads. |
| 1926-1927 | Lee's zip-fly jeans appear (sources differ on the year). |
| 1930s | Zippers start to spread through children's and men's clothing. |
| 1934 | Tadao Yoshida founds the business that becomes YKK, in Tokyo. |
| 1960 | Talon launches the nylon coil Zephyr. |
An early idea: Elias Howe, 1851
The story usually opens with Elias Howe, better known for the sewing machine. On November 25, 1851 he received a US patent titled "Improvement in Fastenings for Garments." Accounts agree he never seriously brought it to market, which makes him more of a forerunner than the inventor.
A fix for shoes: Whitcomb Judson, 1893
Whitcomb L. Judson came closer to the idea we know today. His patent of August 29, 1893 was called "Clasp Locker or Unlocker for Shoes," and the problem it set out to solve was a familiar one: fastening a row of clasps by hand is slow. Judson's sliding guide closed the whole row in one motion. The patent also suggests other uses, such as mail bags and belts.
The device was shown at the Chicago World's Fair that same year, but it did not sell well.
The modern design: Gideon Sundback
The real breakthrough came from Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-born engineer who joined the company behind Judson's fastener in 1906. He dropped the clasps in favor of interlocking teeth. Most accounts say his redesigned fastener went on sale in 1913, though at least one dates this first model to 1914.
His "Separable Fastener" patent followed on March 20, 1917, from an application filed in 1914, and this design is generally treated as the basis of the modern zipper. So the honest answer to "who invented the zipper?" is a line of development running from Judson to Sundback, not one name.
Where the name "zipper" came from
For years the product went by the rather dry name "hookless fastener." Then in 1923 B.F. Goodrich fitted it to rubber galoshes and sold them as "Zipper Boots." The word is said to imitate the sound the fastener makes, although sources disagree on exactly who came up with it. Over time it stopped meaning the boots and came to mean the fastener itself.
Into clothing: the 1930s and jeans
Clothing makers were slow to give up buttons. In the 1930s zippers were promoted on children's clothes, as a way to help kids dress themselves. On men's trousers, 1937 is often remembered as the turning point in the contest between fly buttons and zippers, with Esquire presenting the zipper as a new idea in men's tailoring. That was also the year the Hookless Fastener Company renamed itself Talon.
Lee is usually credited with the first zip-fly jeans, with sources split between 1926 and 1927. Levi's followed in the mid-1950s: as it introduced the 501 to the US East Coast, it added a zippered 501Z next to the button-fly version, for buyers who were not used to button flies. Our guide to jeans zippers covers today's options.
From Tokyo to the world: Tadao Yoshida and YKK
According to YKK's own history, Tadao Yoshida founded San-es Shokai in Tokyo in January 1934. The business changed names several times before becoming YKK in 1994, and it is now known as one of the world's largest zipper makers.
Beyond metal: nylon and plastic
For decades zipper teeth were metal. Some sources date the first coil zipper to 1940, but coil only became common in the 1960s. Talon launched its nylon coil Zephyr in 1960, and polyester later became widespread as well. We could not find a reliable first date for molded plastic zippers, so we would rather not give one. For how coil zippers differ today, see our coil zipper guide.
Why Turkish says "fermuar"
The Turkish word for zipper comes from French, not from the English name. The TDK dictionary gives its source as French fermoir, a clasp or fastener, and the Nişanyan etymological dictionary traces it to the phrase fermoir éclair, roughly "lightning fastener," with fermoir going back to Latin firmare. Nişanyan's earliest Turkish example is a 1936 newspaper advert. French itself now mostly says fermeture éclair.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented the zipper?
No single person. Elias Howe patented a related idea in 1851, Whitcomb Judson developed the first sliding clasp locker in 1893, and Gideon Sundback created the toothed design used today.
When did the modern zipper appear?
Most accounts say Sundback's toothed design went on sale in 1913. His "Separable Fastener" patent was granted on March 20, 1917.
Why is it called a zipper?
The name spread from the "Zipper Boots" B.F. Goodrich sold from 1923. It is said to imitate the sound the fastener makes.
When did jeans get zippers?
Lee is usually credited with the first zip-fly jeans, in 1926 or 1927 depending on the source. Levi's added its zippered 501Z in the mid-1950s.
What does the Turkish word "fermuar" come from?
It comes from French. Turkish dictionaries trace it to fermoir, a clasp or fastener, and the phrase fermoir éclair, roughly "lightning fastener."
