He didn't invent the sewing machine. He did something arguably more important: he got it into everyone's home.

Isaac Merritt Singer was born on October 27, 1811, in Pittstown, New York. In 1851 he patented an improved, practical sewing machine and built a company around it.

I. M. Singer & Co. pioneered selling expensive machines on installment plans, making them affordable for ordinary families. Sewing that took hours by hand could now be done in minutes, and the Singer name became known worldwide.

The idea of 'buy now, pay over time' that his company popularized is still everywhere today.

Does anyone in your family still have an old Singer machine?

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