Today in 1893 Whitcomb Judson received approval for two patents on his ‘clasp-locker’ invention. An improved version was renamed the ‘zipper’ by B.F. Goodrich in 1923.

Zippers primary use early on was to close boots and tobacco pouches. A few years later they began to show up on jackets and by the late 1930s they replaced buttons on men’s pants.

Graphic: By Dominique Toussaint, 2006, Wikimedia Commons.