Thimonnier, Barthélemy

(1793-1857)

   inventor

   Born in L'Arbresle, Rhône, Barthélemy Thimonnier was the inventor of the first practical sewing machine (patented in 1830). it employed a hook-type needle that was moved downward by a foot treadle and returned by a spring, producing a chain stitch. He went to Paris in the hope of popularizing his invention but encountered the opposition of the tailors there, who, when Thimonnier installed 80 of his machines in a clothing factory, wrecked them. He then went to Amplepuis, where he worked as a tailor himself, he perfected his machine then sold the patent in 1848 to a company in Manchester, England.