Tyler Howe
| Tyler Howe | |
|---|---|
Tyler Howe about 1870
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| Born |
August 11, 1800 Spencer, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1880 (aged 79) Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Inventor, manufacturer |
| Known for | Inventing the box-spring bed |
| Spouse(s) | Marcia Ann Prouty (d. 1872) |
| Children | William, Otis, Lorinda, Lydia, Thomas J.G., and John Edward |
Tyler Howe (/haʊ/; August 11, 1800 – June 9, 1880) was an American inventor and manufacturer who developed the first box-spring bed.
Tyler Howe was born on August 11, 1800, to Elijah and Frances "Fanny" (née Bemis) Howe in Spencer, Massachusetts. He was the fifth of 10 children, and the fifth-eldest son. His father was a farmer who spent many hours improving his own farm equipment. Tyler was born in their family's one-room farmhouse, known as Howe's Mills.
Howe was educated in the local public schools, and spent his childhood and teen years assisting on the farm as well as at his father's gristmill and sawmill. In 1833, having invented a machine that cut palm leaves into strips for weaving into hats, Howe moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, and established a palm leaf factory there. He moved his business to the neighborhood of Cambridgeport in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1835.
Hearing of the 1848 California Gold Rush, Howe sailed around South America through the Drake Passage to reach California. He returned to Massachusetts in 1850, having run out of money and found no gold. The trip to California was a harsh one, particularly the sleeping accommodations. Beds consisted of little more than planks of wood nailed to a frame, and the slighest movement of the ship was transferred to the sleeper—making for restless sleep, and often inducing seasickness. Determined to invent an improved bed, Howe began work on a bed in which elliptical springs supported free-floating slats, and the frame of the bed kept the slats in a rectangular shape.
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