Safety Pin

Walter Hunt, USA, patent 6,281 of 1849. Bent from a single wire to settle a fifteen-dollar debt.

Overview

Prolific New York mechanic Walter Hunt twisted a length of wire into a pin with a coiled spring at one end and a clasp shielding the point at the other. According to the usual account he owed a draftsman fifteen dollars, invented the pin in a few hours, and sold the rights for four hundred dollars. The buyer made a fortune while Hunt moved on to other ideas. Hunt had earlier built a lockstitch sewing machine but declined to patent it, fearing it would throw seamstresses out of work.