Josef Madersperger (* October 6, 1768 in

Kufstein Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The great ...

; † October 2, 1850 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was a tailor. He is one of the

inventors An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

of the

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

Biography

Josef Madersperger was born in 1768 in

. In 1790 his father and he relocated to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

because his parents' house in

Tirol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

burned down. In 1807 he began development of the sewing machine, spending all his savings and leisure time. In 1814 he presented his first sewing machine, which imitated a human hand. Madersperger did not commercialize the 1815 granted privilege which expired after 3 years. By 1823 he was registered as a "former" middle-class tailor. After several unsuccessful attempts to improve the sewing machine, in 1839 he built a machine imitating the weaving process using the

chain stitch Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated ...

. Madersperger was out of money, so he could not set up a factory. He donated the prototype to the Imperial–royal Polytechnical Institute (the predecessor of the

TU Wien TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

). In 1841 he received a bronze medal from the :de:Niederösterreichischer Gewerbeverein. Madersperger died on 2 October 1850, staying with his wife for only 3 months in Vienna's

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

. He is buried in a common grave at the

St. Marx Cemetery St. Marx Cemetery (Sankt Marxer Friedhof) is a cemetery in the Landstraße district of Vienna, used from 1784 until 1874. It contains the unmarked grave of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History The cemetery was named after a nearb ...

. Vienna's tailors guild erected a crucifix made of cast iron, and continues to maintain the grave. In his honour, 1933 a memorial was presented to the public in the Resselpark at

Karlsplatz Karlsplatz () is a town square on the border of the first and fourth districts of Vienna. It is one of the most frequented and best connected transportation hubs in Vienna. The Karlskirche is located here. The first district can be reached e ...

. Streets in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

and

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

got his name. The almshouse was replaced 1955-57 by a community-subsidized tenement building. A memorial tablet commemorates Madersperger. The lodgers call the building ''Madersperger-Hof''

External links

*
Bezirksmuseum Landstraße - Josef Madersperger, being a ''Landstraßer'' against his will

A Video about 3 unsuccessful inventors of Vienna (the stories about Siegfried Marcus don't claim to be right in a historical sense ). {{DEFAULTSORT:Madersperger, Josef Austrian inventors People from Kufstein Businesspeople from Vienna 1768 births 1850 deaths Austrian tailors