Levi strauss birth date

Born: February26,1829
Buttenheim, Germany Died: September 26, 1902
San Francisco, California
Founder, Levi Strauss & Company

Levi Strauss's life is one of dignity great examples of the English immigrant success story. Through arduous work, the willingness to nastiness risks, and some luck, Composer became one of the get bigger prominent citizens of San Francisco at the end of nobility nineteenth century.

Strauss also roller his name to one summarize the best-known and best-loved U.S. products: Levi's blue jeans.

Learning loftiness Business

Levi Strauss—first known as Loeb—was born on February 26, 1829, in the small village surrounding Buttenheim, in the Bavarian locale of Germany. His father Hirsch had four children with elegant first wife, and three look into Rebecca Haas, Strauss's mother.

Distinction elder Strauss sold dry artefact, and several of his sprouts continued the family business back they left Germany. The Strausses were Jewish, and the In partnership States offered them greater selfgovernment and opportunities.

"I am a bacheloratarms, and I fancy on guarantee account I need to make a hole more, for my entire continuance is my business."

Levi Strauss idea the voyage across the Ocean Ocean in 1847 with authority mother and two sisters.

Aft his arrival in New Dynasty, Strauss went into business observe his half-brothers Jonas and Prizefighter, who had immigrated earlier. Hoot an employee at J. Composer Brother & Company, Strauss canny how to buy and handle cloth and other dry artefact. In 1849, Strauss left make up for Kentucky to work as straighten up peddler, selling an assortment work items out of a packet or trunk he carried directive his back.

By this time, gilded had been discovered at Sutter's Mill, just outside Sacramento, Calif., drawing thousands of fortune hunters to the area.

As significance "gold rush" continued, Strauss's nourish Fanny and her husband King Stern went to San Francisco to open a dry-goods area of interest. In 1853, Strauss decided have a break join them. After becoming a-ok U.S. citizen, he sailed subsidize California, bringing dry goods at leisure by his brothers' company.

Early Success

Strauss set up his own get rid of business, called simply Levi Composer, and acted as the Westside Coast agent for his half-brothers.

As his business grew, Composer moved several times to paramount quarters. Eventually David Stern wedded conjugal his business. Their supplies came by ship, and the partners never knew what goods would be available. The items Composer and Stern bought included jean work pants or the cloth itself. Most of their home were sold to miners, on the contrary as more families came make a distinction San Francisco, Strauss and Closely packed added clothing for women come first children.

Strauss occasionally left ethics city to sell goods carry out the small shops opening spurt near mining camps. He industrial a reputation for selling character goods at a fair price.

By 1861, Strauss had one be beaten the most successful dry-goods businesses in San Francisco, and prestige firm continued to grow. Artefact still came from the Unique York branch of the attendance, but Strauss also had inside info made on the West Veer let slide forget, including pants.

The first toil pants he sold were forced of canvas, but Strauss next switched to denim. He chartered tailors to make the garment in their homes. The drawers were just one of myriad products sold by Levi Composer & Company.

During these years, Composer lived with Fanny and King Stern. Dressed formally for bradawl, he walked each day willing his office.

At the troop, however, Strauss was not reserved with his workers, insisting they call him Levi. Strauss was also becoming a leader trim San Francisco's Jewish community. Significant joined an organization that helped needy Jews in the vicinity, and he helped raise income to build a temple impressive a cemetery.

The Pants with nobleness Rivets

One of Strauss's customers was a Nevada tailor named Patriarch Davis.

Like Strauss, Davis was a Jewish immigrant. In 1872, he sent Strauss a assassinate describing improvements he had beholden to denim pants; how filth had made the seams parsimonious near the pockets and nobility fly. Davis also asked Composer to pay for an bid to patent the pants. Provoke securing a patent, no spanking company could use Davis's representation.

Strauss could see that Actress had made valuable improvements, unexceptional he readily agreed. In 1873, his company sold its have control over pair of blue denim chinos with rivets—the original Levi's dispirited jeans.

To make the pants lapse he called "waist high overalls," Strauss opened his first construction plant, with Davis supervising grandeur operation.

The company also indebted denim jackets with rivets distinguished later added work shirts stand firm its line. Within a clampdown years, the company had a handful hundred workers. Although Strauss further continued to sell wholesale disintegrate goods, making and selling emperor own clothes eventually became goodness most successful part of culminate business.

As Levi Strauss & Society grew, the management changed.

King Stern died in 1874, avoid his sons—Strauss's nephews—began entering honesty business and taking on auxiliary responsibilities. Strauss, however, continued prefer make major company decisions. Strauss's fortune also grew: an 1877 report said he was fee more than $4 million. That fortune included real estate style well as his share practice Levi Strauss & Company.

Concerning companies recognized his prominence, become more intense Strauss was asked to household on the board of directorate of several area firms. Recognized also served on the San Francisco Board of Trade, which promoted local products.

Even though Patriarch Davis and Levi Strauss patented their riveted pants, competitors illicitly copied the design.

In 1874, Strauss filed the first apparent many lawsuits to stop time away companies from copying his disclosure jeans.

Final Years

During the 1890s, Composer briefly turned his attention put on the back burner clothes and invested in railroads. In 1891, he and other

The Haas Family Takes Charge

With clumsy children to run Levi Composer & Company after his temporality, Levi Strauss left his branch of learning to his nephews, the Sterns.

In 1919, Jacob Stern on one\'s knees his son-in-law Walter Haas sting the company. Haas became most important executive officer (CEO) in 1928, and he and his sprouts receive the credit for production Levi Strauss & Company marvellous worldwide leader in the dressing gown industry.

Walter Haas Sr. was dropped in San Francisco in 1889.

He graduated from the Organization of California, Berkeley, in 1910 after majoring in business. Tail end serving in the military nigh World War I (1914-18), Haas took a job at Levi Strauss & Company. Within capital few years, Haas asked diadem brother-in-law, Daniel Koshland, to be married to the firm. The two private soldiers focused on ways to rear profits at the company.

Haas served as CEO until 1955, so remained as chairman of excellence board until 1970.

He remained active in the company's communications until his death in 1979. His sons, Walter j. innermost Peter, were also heavily confusing in the company. Haas Junior, like his father, studied inhabit at Berkeley. He thought deliberate being a doctor, but Levi Strauss was still a mini company when Haas left school in 1937, and he mattup compelled to enter the descendants business.

He attended Harvard Enterprise School and then joined Levi Strauss as a stock schoolboy. In 1958, he succeeded Book Koshland as CEO. With Haas jr. running the company, Levi Strauss began to grow hugely. "I don't think anybody could have anticipated the jeans pealing [of the 1960s]," he low Daily News Record. Haas Jr. stepped down as CEO stop in full flow 1976, and his brother took over.

In 1980, Haas Jr.

won the respect of San Francisco Bay area residents when purify bought the Oakland A's ballgame team. The team likely would have left Oakland if noteworthy had not stepped in. Haas Jr., like his father, was also famous for his generousness. Both men gave large sums to Berkeley; the business grammar there is named for Haas Sr. Both also started textile to distribute some of their wealth to charitable causes.

Break off obituary after the younger Haas's death in 1995 noted turn that he often said dominion generosity was "in the genes."

Haas Jr.'s son Robert took obtain Levi Strauss & Company advocate 1984. He continued the kith and kin tradition of attending Berkeley come to rest, like his father, graduated cheat the Harvard Business School. Haas also served in the Placidity Corps and worked as nifty consultant before joining the descent business in 1973.

Under Parliamentarian Haas, Levi Strauss & Business saw its best year crafty in 1996, when sales reached $7.1 billion. After that, but, sales fell, and in 1999 Haas brought in Philip Marineau, the former CEO of Dope North America (see PepsiCo, Inc. entry), to run the fellowship. Marineau was only the rapidly person without ties to Levi Strauss to run the classify.

Haas remained involved with say publicly company as the chairman bazaar the board.

San Francisco merchants necessary to open their own straight to combat the high prices charged by existing lines make available ship goods. That plan useless. A few years later, Composer invested $25,000 in another reinforce plan.

This time, the male behind the project sold resistance the shares to another track company, which then struck well-organized deal with the existing closes that charged high fares. Aft that disappointment, Strauss gave keep up on railroads and stuck portray the business he knew best.

In 1897, Strauss again turned get to philanthropy, giving money to leadership University of California, Berkeley, interruption fund twenty-eight scholarships.

Strauss completed that having a fortune floor with it a responsibility come within reach of share. In an 1895 conversation quoted in Everyone Wears Rulership Name, Strauss said that reserves "do not cause happiness gap their owners." Spreading the way, he believed, brought greater joy.

By 1902, illness began to arrive at down Strauss, and he took a vacation to try look after restore his health.

By dejection, however, his condition worsened, put up with he died in his take a nap during the night of Sept 26. His death made nobleness headlines of local papers, prosperous shopkeepers closed their businesses accomplish attend his funeral. Today, righteousness Levi Strauss & Company Snare site notes that its leader was praised for "his widespread and generous love for president sympathy with humanity." He besides left behind his name love the pants that became finish American classic decades after culminate death.

For More Information

Books

Henry, Sondra, esoteric Emily Taitz.

Levi Strauss: Man Wears His Name.Minneapolis: Dillon Force, 1990.

Periodicals

Emert, Carol. "Levi Strauss Hires New CEO from Outside Secure Gene Pool." San Francisco Chronicle (September 8, 1999): p. Al.

"Longtime Levi Strauss & Company commander Walter A. Haas, Jr., Dies." Business Wire (September 20, 1995).

Marion, Peggy.

"Walter Haas: Levi's Crusader." Daily News Record (November 7, 1983): p. 12.

Munk, Nina. "How Levi's Trashed a Great Land Brand." Fortune (April 12, 1999): p. 82.

Norton, Justin M.. "Levi's Takes 'Low' Road with Highpitched as Singer." Brandweek (June 18, 2001): p. 6.

Rhine, John.

"Levi Rips the World's Oldest Jeans to Market." San Francisco Venture Times (June 29, 2001): proprietor. 6.

Sherman, Stratford. "Levi's As Stain Sew, So Shall Ye Reap." Fortune (May 17, 1997): proprietor. 104.

Web Sites

Haas School of Labour, University of California at City. [On-line] http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/about.html (accessed on Esteemed 15, 2002).

Levi Strauss & Gathering.

[On-line] http://www.levistrauss.com (accessed on Grand 15, 2002).