Whitcomb L. Judson
| Whitcomb L. Judson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | March 7, 1846 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | December 7, 1909 |
| Resting place | Muskegon, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Inventor of Zipper |
| Spouse(s) | Annie, m. 1874 |
| Children | Jane Gertrude Ross |
Whitcomb L. Judson (March 7, 1846 – December 7, 1909) was an American machine salesman, mechanical engineer and inventor. Judson invented the zipper in the 1890s.
Judson was born in Chicago, Illinois. According to the 1860 census, he lived in Illinois, and served in the Union army. He enlisted in 1861 at Oneida, Illinois in the Forty-Second Illinois Cavalry. Judson attended Knox College in his hometown Galesburg, Illinois. He was found in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1886. In 1886 and 1887 the Minneapolis city directory identifies Judson as a "traveling agent" — a traveling salesman working probably for Pitts Agricultural Works. A couple of years later Judson began working for Earle Manufacturing Company with Harry L. Earle as the head of the firm. Judson sold band cutters and grain scales for them along with other items as one of their salesmen.
Judson began his efforts of making inventions around 1888 to 1889. His concentration was on inventions for a "pneumatic street railway". His first patented invention was for a "mechanical movement" related to that. In 1889 Judson obtained six patents related to his concept of a street railway running on compressed air. The concept was similar to the cable railway system but with pistons suspended beneath the railcar. Similar systems were tried throughout the nineteenth century, however they all failed because of sealing problems. Judson's similar inventions were also impractical and as a whole not very successful. The street railway concept ultimately went electric. It turned out, however, that Earle was promoter for the Judson Pneumatic Street Railway. They even had a demonstration line in 1890 in Washington, D.C. for about a mile that was at what is today Georgia Avenue. It ran for only a few weeks before they shut it down due to technical problems. A cable streetcar firm bought them out and turned it into an electric streetcar since Judson's system was impractical.
Judson was an inventor who was awarded 30 patents over a sixteen-year career. He received fourteen patents on street railway ideas before his most noteworthy invention, a chain-lock fastener. This was the precursor to the modern zipper which he developed and invented in 1890. Judson is recognized as the inventor of the zipper. He also invented a "clasp-locker" automation production machine that made his fastener device inexpensively. There were many technical problems in making the "clasp-lockers" however.
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