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Levi Strauss came to San Francisco in 1853, at the age of twenty-four, to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business. He built his business into a very successful operation over the next twenty years, making a name for himself not only as a well-respected businessman, but as a local philanthropist as well.

One of Levi's many customers was a tailor from Reno, Nevada named Jacob Davis, who regularly purchased bolts of cloth from the wholesale house of Levi Strauss & Co. Among Jacob's customers was a difficult man who kept ripping the pockets of the pants that Jacob made for him. Jacob tried to think of a way to strengthen the man's trousers, and one day hit upon the idea of putting metal rivets at the points of strain, such as on the pocket corners and at the base of the button fly.

These riveted pants were an instant hit with Jacob's customers and he worried that someone might steal this great idea. He needed a business partner and he immediately thought of Levi Strauss.

Jacob wrote to Levi to suggest that the two men hold the patent together. Levi, who was an astute businessman, saw the potential for this new product and agreed to Jacob's proposal. On May 20, 1873, the two men received patent #139,121 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We consider that day to be the official ”birthday” of blue jeans.

Although denim pants had been around as work wear for many years, it was the first use of rivets that created what we now call jeans. ”Waist overalls” was the traditional name for work pants, which is what these first jeans were called. The word jeans became more popular around 1960 when the baby-boom generation adopted the term for its favorite type of pants.

The denim for the riveted work pants came from the Amoskeag Mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, a company known for the quality of its fabrics. Within a very short time, all types of working men were buying the innovative new pants and spreading the word about their unrivaled durability. Around 1890, these pants were assigned the number 501, which they still bear today.

Levi Strauss & Co. was the only company allowed to make riveted clothing until 1890, when the patent went into the public domain. During this period, the only riveted clothing in the world was made by Levi Strauss & Co. When the patent expired, dozens of garment manufacturers began to imitate the original riveted clothing made popular by Levi Strauss & Co.

So, the next time you see someone wearing a pair of Levi's® 501® jeans, remember that these pants are a direct descendant of the original pair made in 1873. And it was two visionary immigrants, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, who turned denim, thread and a little metal into the most popular clothing product in the world — blue jeans.

• 
  1829

  Levi Strauss is born in Buttenheim, Germany.

• 
  1853

  Aged 24, Levi Strauss becomes an American citizen and heads for San Francisco to make his fortune in the California Gold Rush... not by panning for gold, but by selling supplies to the miners. In March he arrives San Francisco and sets up a small dry-goods business on California Street.

• 
  1872

  Jacob Davis, a Reno-tailor, tells Levi Strauss about the process he's invented to rivet the stress points on trousers. He wants to apply for a patent, but doesn't have the required 68 dollars. He needs a business partner. Levi sees the potential for this new product and agrees to Jacob's proposal.

• 
  1873

  May 20, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis are granted a patent of the riveting process. It's patent No.139,121. We consider this to be the official “birthday” of blue jeans. They have one back pocket with the Arcuate stitching design, a watch pocket, a cinch and braces buttons.

• 
  1886

  The Two Horse brand leather patch is first used on the ”waist overalls”.

• 
  1890

  Lot numbers are first assigned to the garments being manufactured. “501” is used to designate the famous copper-riveted ”waist overalls”.

• 
  1897

  Levi Strauss donates funds to endow 28 scholarships at the University of California, Berkeley. These scholarships are still in place today. He also gives money to the California School for the Deaf and supports other local charities.

• 
  1901

  The ”waist overalls” now have two back pockets.

• 
  1902

  September 27th, Levi Strauss dies, age 73. On the day of his funeral, local businesses are temporarily closed. His employees escort the casket to the railway station, from where it is transported to the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, south of San Francisco. His nephews inherit the business.

• 
  1906

  April 18th, the San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires destroy the Levi Strauss & Co headquarters and two factories. Employee salaries are continued, and temporary headquarters are opened in order to keep employees working. A new factory and headquarters are built in San Francisco during the following year.

• 
  1915

  LS&CO receives the Highest Award for its “waist overalls” at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. The company begins to purchase denim from Cone Mills in North Carolina.

• 
  1918

  „Freedom-Alls” are introduced: patented work/play garments for women.

• 
  1920

  The price of cotton drops sharply, rendering cotton garments subject to price reduction. Despite this, Walter Haas Sr. (Levi Strauss' nephew) maintains the company's 25,000 dollar advertising budget, as he feels advertising (in the form of billboards and painted signs) is crucial to the success of the „waist overalls”.

• 
  1922

  Belt loops are added to the overalls, but the braces buttons are still retained. LS&CO now buys its denim exclusively from Cone Mills.

• 
  1926

  Bonuses are given to the workers at the Valencia Street factory, possibly a first in the apparel industry.

• 
  1927

  Cone Mills develops the unique ”01” fabric in a 10 oz. denim.

• 
  1928

  The company registers the word Levi's® as a trademark.

• 
  1930

  The Depression strikes. The factory workers are put on a short work week to avoid layoffs. The company adopts the cowboy as its image-building icon. The jean is still seen as workwear, but begin to take on emotional attributes with their links to the romantic figure of the cowboy.

• 
  1933

  The 501® „waist overalls” jeans from this period have belt loops as well as brace buttons and a cinch.

• 
  1935

  LS&CO creates Lady Levi's®, the company's first line for women. „Vogue Magazine” covers Levi's® wear for women.

• 
  1936

  The red Tab device is put onto the right back pocket of the „waist overalls”. The word „Levi's” is stitched in white in all capital letters.

• 
  1937

  The back pockets on the waist overalls are sewn over so that they cover the rivets. This is in response to consumers who complain that the rivets scratched their furniture and saddles. The buttons for braces are removed from the „overalls”.

• 
  1939

  The waist overalls are changed slightly in order to follow rules set by the War Production Board. The crotch rivet and cinch are removed to save fabric and metal (the story also goes that cowboys were complaining that the crotch rivet could get hot when squatting in front of fire!).

• 
  1940

  US soldiers wear their Levi's® jeans, t-shirts and jackets overseas, giving the products their first international exposure. African-American workers at the company's California plants work in integrated facilities, well before government mandated integration policies.

• 
  1944

  Due to war restrictions, the Arcuate stitching design is removed, as the thread is decorative only and not vital to the usefulness of the garment. In order to keep the design on the pockets, LS&CO sewing machine operators hand-paint it on each pair!

• 
  1948

  Levi Strauss & Co. drops the wholesaling end of the business to concentrate on manufacturing its own products.

• 
  1950

  The blue jean gradually changes from workwear to a symbol of teenage rebellion. The Beat Generation, most notably Jack Kerouac, adopted jeans, sunglasses and black turtlenecks as their uniform of non-conformity. This anti-establishment element is cemented in the public's perception by a scowling Marlon Brando in „The Wild One” (1953).

• 
  1952

  The Levi Strauss Foundation is formed to coordinate the company's charitable giving.

• 
  1954

  A zippered version of the „waist overalls” is introduced, „501®” „Lighter Blues” casual slacks and the „Denim Family” line mark the company's entry into the sportswear business. A Colonel on an American base in Germany bans military wives from wearing blue jeans, saying it reflects poorly on the USA...

• 
  1955

  The Red Tab® has the word „LEVI'S” stitched on both sides. Double needle machines are used to stitch the Arcuate design, resulting in the „diamond” effect and for the first time making each Arcuate identical.

• 
  1956

  The leather patch is replaced by ”leather-like” card stock, due to the increasing cost of leather.

• 
  1959

  Levi's® jeans are exhibited at the ”American Fashion Industries Presentation” in Moscow. The company begins exporting garments to Europe.

• 
  1960

  LS&CO opens its first factory In the South of the US. Located in Blackstone, Virginia, the company insists from the start that the facility will be racially integrated. This is before desegregation is made compulsory by federal law. The word „overalls” is replaced by the word „jeans” in all our advertising.

• 
  1962

  The iconic „Type 3” denim jacket - also known as the 557 - is introduced, creating a design template for all future denim jackets. Levi Strauss & Co Europe is established

• 
  1963

  Pre-shrunk Levi's® jeans are introduced.

• 
  1964

  Sta Prest® slacks - the first trousers with a permanent crease - are introduced.

• 
  1965

  Levi Strauss International and Levi Strauss Far East are established, beginning the company's expansion into Europe and Asia.

• 
  1966

  The first television commercial for Levi's® jeans is aired. This is possibly the first ever TV ad for clothing!

• 
  1967

  The quintessential slim fit 505® jean is introduced. The rivets are removed from the back pockets and replaced with bar tacking. The rock group The Jefferson Airplane record radio commercials for Stretch Levi's® and the 5-pocket twill White Levi's®.

• 
  1968

  The company creates a separate division for women's clothing: Levi's® For Girls. The Community Affairs department is established, formalising the company's philanthropic efforts.

• 
  1969

  The Woodstock concert takes place. A lot of Levi's® jeans are in the audience! Levi Strauss & Co introduces heavily flared bell bottoms into its jeans line.

• 
  1970

  During the '70s, as jeans become gradually more fashionable, so does Levi's® brand advertising-One of the briefs given to our advertising agency is ”The strategic alteration of reality„- Far out man! Corduroy and polyester round out the company's line of products. The first Community Involvement Teams are formed at HQ.

• 
  1971

  The word ”Levi's” on the red Tab is now stitched with a small ”®”. Levi Strauss Japan is established. Thecover of Rolling Stones' album ”Sticky Fingers”, designed by Andy Warhol, shows Mick Jagger wearing zip fly Levi's® jeans. The first edition of covers uses a real zip!

• 
  1974

  Levi Strauss & Co. sponsors a „Denim Art Contest”, inviting customers to submit pictures of their ”decorated denim”. The company receives 2,000. The winning garments tour American museums and some of them are purchased by Levi Strauss & Co. for our company archives. (”Levi's® Denim Art Contest”. Squarebooks in 1974.)

• 
  1981

  Levi's® 501® jeans for women are introduced and advertised on TV by the “Travis” ad.

• 
  1983

  Cone Mills begins to introduce XXX denim through the use of 60' wide looms. AIDS support groups are first formed at headquarters. The first Original Levi's® Store opens in Europe (in Spain). Within eight years there are 527 stores throughout Europe.

• 
  1984

  LS&CO is the official outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team. Bruce Springsteen sports a pair of 501® jeans of the cover of the “Born in The USA” album. Bob Haas, a great-grand nephew of Levi Strauss, becomes President and Chief Executive Officer.

• 
  1985

  In Europe, the “Laundrette” ad boosts sales of Levi's® 501® jeans by 500 percent virtually overnight and defines the dress code of a generation of young men by mixing American soul with nostalgia and romance. The way of advertising jeans is forever changed.

• 
  1991

  „Project Change,” an initiative to fight institutional racism in LS&CO communities, is launched. The first Original Levi's® Store is opened in the United States, in Columbus, Ohio.

• 
  1992

  Due to the worldwide interest in “vintage” Levi's® jeans, LS&CO introduces the “Capital E” jean in the United States. This also follows on the success of the vintage model created earlier by Levi Strauss Japan.

• 
  1993

  Levi Strauss & Co. sponsors a contest to find the oldest pair of Levi's® jeans. The winner dates back to the late 1920s. LS&CO wins Business Ethics magazine's “Excellence in Ethics” award. LS&CO offices in Europe help underwrite a major photojournalistic exploration of the impact of living with AIDS.

• 
  1994

  Original Levi's® Stores around the globe participate in World AIDS day.

• 
  1995

  Carl von Buskirk, President of LS Europe, signs a charter confirming that we do not - and never will- discriminate against employees with HIV or AIDS.

• 
  1996

  Levi's® Vintage Clothing is introduced globally. LVC is a line of authentic reproductions of clothing from the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change presents LS&CO with the 1996 Management Award.

• 
  1998

  LS&CO celebrates the 125th anniversary of the invention of jeans in 1873.

• 
  1999

  The brand expands its music involvement with Lauryn Hill's “Miseducation” tour, Basement Jaxx, Jamiroquai, Massive Attack, and the US MTV Video Music Awards. In Europe, the Levi's® Sta-Prest® line is re-introduced and advertised by a little yellow fellow called Flat Eric. Bob Haas becomes Chairman of the Board.

• 
  2000

  Time Magazine names 501® jeans “The Clothing Piece of The 20th Century”. Levi's® Engineered Jeans® are introduced. Levi's® ICD+™: The world's first commercial example of intelligent wear. Levi Strauss & Co. sponsors D'Angelo and Christina Aguilera's concert tours in the US. In Europe, the Levi's® brand promotes Primal Scream's tour.

• 
  2001

  Levi Strauss & Co. acquires the oldest known pair of jeans in the world for the record sum of 46,532 dollars, and the Levi's® Vintage Clothing line reproduces them in a special limited edition. The jean is dubbed “The Nevada Jean”.The Levi's® brand sponsors Outkast's tour in Europe.

• 
  2003

  Levi Strauss & Co. celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding and the 130th anniversary of the invention of blue jeans by Levi Strauss & Jacob Davis. In February, the Levi's® Type 1™ Jeans line is launched globally, a modern interpretation of the iconic jeanswear created 130 years earlier.

• 
  2003

  The Levi's® Digital Art Award is established. Design colleges across Europe are given a brief to: „interpret the spirit of the 501® jeans to create an original work for the web”. The short-listed pieces are showcased on eu.levi.com, where the public votes for the winner. The winner of the 2003 Award is Ka Key Ng from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in the UK.

• 
  2010

  Levi's® launches Levi's® Curve ID – three revolutionary new fits for women that are designed around the curve of a women’s body and based on insight from an independent global fit research study of 60,000 women.

Levi Strauss, the inventor of the quintessential American garment - the blue jean - was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria on February 26, 1829 to Hirsch Strauss and his second wife, Rebecca Haas Strauss. Levi - named „Loeb” at birth - and his older sister Fanny were the last of the Strauss children; Hirsch and his first wife had perhaps five children, but this information is a little hard to pin down.

Hirsch succumbed to tuberculosis in 1845 and two years later Rebecca, Loeb, Fanny, and possibly another sister named Mathilde emigrated to New York. There, they were met by Jonas and Louis, two of the older boys, who had already made the journey and had started a wholesale dry goods business, called “J. Strauss Brother & Co.” Young Loeb soon began to learn the trade himself, and by 1850 he was known among his family and customers as “Levi” (in the census of that year, his name is spelled “Levy.”).

When news of the California Gold Rush made its way east, Levi emigrated to San Francisco to make his fortune, though he knew he wouldn’t make it panning gold. At the end of January 1853 he became an American citizen, and in February he headed for the West coast via the Isthmus of Panama. He arrived in bustling, noisy San Francisco in early March, establishing a wholesale dry goods business under his own name and also serving as the West Coast representative of the family’s New York firm. His new company imported dry goods – clothing, underwear, umbrellas, handkerchiefs, bolts of fabric – and sold them to the small stores that were springing up all over California and the West. It was these stores that helped outfit the miners of the Gold Rush and, eventually, the new families that began to populate the western regions.

The first address where Levi conducted business (that we know of) was at 90 Sacramento Street, and the name of his firm was simply, “Levi Strauss.” In the 1850s this location was very close to the waterfront, handy for receiving and selling the goods that arrived by ship from his brother Jonas in New York. In 1856 Levi moved the business to 62 Sacramento Street and then to 63 & 65 Sacramento as its trade and reputation expanded. By this time David Stern - who was married to Levi’s sister Fanny - was associated with the firm. In 1861 the business relocated to 317 & 317 Sacramento Street, and in 1863 the company was renamed “Levi Strauss & Co.” Then in 1866 Levi moved the headquarters again, to larger quarters at 14-16 Battery Street, where it remained for the next forty years.

In his mid-thirties, Levi was already a well-known figure around the city. He was active in the business and cultural life of San Francisco, and actively supported the Jewish community, including Temple Emanu-El, the city's first synagogue. Despite his stature as an important business man, he insisted that his employees call him Levi, and not Mr. Strauss.

In 1872, Levi received a letter from Jacob Davis, a Reno, Nevada tailor. Davis was one of Levi Strauss’ regular customers; he purchased bolts of cloth from the company to use for his own business. In his letter, he told the prosperous merchant about the interesting way he made pants for his customers: he placed metal rivets at the points of strain - pocket corners, and at the base of the button fly. He did this in order to make the pants stronger for the laboring men who were his customers. He wanted to patent this new idea but needed a business partner to get the idea off the ground. So he suggested that the two men take out the patent together (sharing the costs, as well). Levi was enthusiastic about the idea and the patent was granted to both men on May 20, 1873. The blue jean was born.

He knew that demand would be great for these riveted „waist overalls” (the old name for jeans), so Levi brought Jacob Davis to San Francisco to oversee the first West Coast manufacturing facility. It’s possible that the first manufacture of the jeans was undertaken by individual seamstresses who worked out of their homes. By the 1880s Levi had leased factory space and then opened his own factory south of Market Street (though the dates and information are a bit vague here, thanks to the loss of the company’s historical records in the 1906 earthquake and fire). The famous 501® jean – known at the time simply as “XX” – was soon a best seller, as were the other riveted products Levi and Jacob added to their new manufactured lines.

Levi carried on other business pursuits during his career, as well. He became a charter member and treasurer of the San Francisco Board of Trade in 1877. He was a director of the Nevada Bank, the Liverpool, London and Globe Insurance Company and the San Francisco Gas and Electric Company. In 1875 Levi and two associates purchased the Mission and Pacific Woolen Mills from the estate of former silver millionaire William Ralston, and the mill's fabric was used to make the Levi Strauss & Co. „blanket-lined” pants and coats.

He was also one of the city’s greatest philanthropists. Levi was a contributor to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and Home, the Eureka Benevolent Society and the Hebrew Board of Relief. In 1895 he and a number of other prominent San Franciscans provided funds to build a new railroad from San Francisco to the San Joaquin Valley (a project which unfortunately failed). And in 1897 Levi provided the funds for twenty-eight scholarships at the University of California, Berkeley.

As the end of the 19th century approached, Levi was still involved in the day-to-day workings of the business, though he had brought his nephews into the firm by this time. David Stern had died in 1874 and his four sons - Jacob, Sigmund, Louis and Abraham – were now working with their uncle Levi. In 1890 - the year that the XX waist overall was given the lot number “501®” - Levi and his nephews officially incorporated the company.

During the week of September 22, 1902 Levi began to complain of ill health but by Friday evening the 26th, he felt well enough to attend the family dinner at the home on Leavenworth Street which he shared with Jacob Stern’s family. He awakened briefly in the night, and told the nurse in attendance that he felt „as comfortable as I can under the circumstances.” Then, peacefully, he died. His death was headline news in the Sunday, September 28 edition of the San Francisco Call. On Monday, the day of his funeral, local businesses were temporarily closed so that their proprietors could attend the services. The eulogy was read at Levi’s home by Rabbi Jacob Voorsanger of Temple Emanu-El; afterward, company employees escorted the casket to the Southern Pacific railway station, where it was transported to the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma (now Home of Peace), south of San Francisco.

Levi's estate amounted to nearly $6 million, the bulk of which was left to his four nephews and other family members. Other bequests were made to the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, the Home for Aged Israelites, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Orphan Asylums, Eureka Benevolent Society and the Emanu-El Sisterhood.

In summing up Levi's life and the establishment of his business, the San Francisco Call stated: „Fairness and integrity in his dealings with his Eastern factors and his customers and liberality toward his employees soon gave the house a standing second to none on the coast.” An even more fitting testimonial was pronounced by the San Francisco Board of Trade in a special resolution:

„...the great causes of education and charity have
likewise suffered a signal loss in the death of
Mr. Strauss, whose splendid endowments to the
University of California will be an enduring
testimonial of his worth as a liberal, public-minded
citizen and whose numberless unostentatious acts of
charity in which neither race nor creed were recognized,
exemplified his broad and generous love for and sympathy
with humanity.”

On April 18, 1906 San Francisco was devastated by a massive earthquake and fire. Counted among the buildings which did not survive the catastrophe was the headquarters of Levi Strauss & Co. on Battery Street. The building survived the earthquake, but not the fire, which raged for three long days: all dry goods, furnishings and business records were destroyed. The factory suffered the same fate.

It was a great loss; but it did not signal the end to the company. As the ashes cooled, the Stern brothers made plans for a new facility and a new factory, as their uncle Levi would no doubt have done. They also continued to pay employee salaries and extended credit to other, less fortunate merchants until they could get back on their feet.

For although buildings and factories fell, the company built by Levi Strauss was bedrock solid, due to his foresight, his business sense and his unswerving devotion to quality.