Dopyera

Early life

John Dopyera was one of ten siblings born at the close of the 19th century. His father, Jozef Dopyera, was a miller in Dolná Krupá, Slovakia, to which they had moved shortly after Dopyera's birth. A gifted musician, Jozef constructed his own violins, which were popular in Slovakia for their craftsmanship. Under his father's tutelage, Dopyera built his first fiddle while still a young boy. In 1908, concerned that war was imminent in Europe, the Dopyeras emigrated to California. In the 1920s, Dopyera opened a stringed instrument shop in Los Angeles, where he built and repaired fiddles, banjos, and other wood stringed instruments. Around this time, Dopyera patented several improvements to banjo construction.