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Geopge De MestralSwiss engineer, inventor of textile Velcro
Date of Birth: 19.06.1907
Country:  Switzerland |
Content:
- Biography of Georges de Mestral - The Inventor of Velcro
- The Invention of Velcro
- Development and Success
- Later Life and Legacy
Biography of Georges de Mestral - The Inventor of Velcro
Early Life and EducationGeorges de Mestral was a Swiss engineer and the inventor of the famous hook-and-loop fastener, known in the English-speaking world as Velcro. He was born in 1907 near Lausanne, Switzerland, in Colombier. At the age of 12, he obtained his first patent for a toy airplane that he had designed. Georges had a talent for mathematics and inventing, and he pursued his education at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. He graduated from the institution in 1930 and began working in an engineering company.
The Invention of Velcro
Georges de Mestral stumbled upon his invention purely by accident. One day, after returning from a walk, he discovered that his dog was covered in burdock burrs. As he removed the burrs from the dog's fur, he became curious about why they stuck so firmly. Examining the burrs under a microscope, he observed tiny hooks that attached themselves to the dog's hair. This sparked the idea in Georges' mind to use a similar mechanism for a fastening device. Initially, his idea was not met with much interest from textile manufacturers in Lyon, the "capital of fabrics." However, Georges persisted and continued to work on his concept.
Development and Success
After experimenting with various materials, Georges de Mestral settled on nylon. With a special treatment, nylon proved to be the perfect material for creating the gripping parts of his invention. However, it took several years of trial and error to refine the design. In 1951, he submitted his invention, the textile fastener, to the patent office in Switzerland. Finally, in 1955, de Mestral received the long-awaited patent for his creation. He named his invention Velcro, and its success was immense.
Within a couple of years, Georges de Mestral was selling his textile fastener, commonly known today as Velcro, all across Europe. His product gained popularity in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In the late 1950s, production of Velcro was established in Canada and the United States. Initially, the early versions of the hook-and-loop fasteners were not particularly aesthetically pleasing. However, they found wide usage in the aerospace industry and sports equipment.
Later Life and Legacy
Georges de Mestral was married three times during his lifetime. He passed away in 1990 and was buried in Switzerland. In 1999, he was posthumously inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame. Even today, Velcro remains an essential and widely used fastening system, with Georges de Mestral's invention revolutionizing the way we secure objects in various industries.
