Whose Invention Was the Sewing Machine?

American inventor Elias Howe received a patent for a practical lockstitch sewing machine in 1846. However, Isaac Singer independently developed a commercially successful version in 1851 that was easier to use and market. A bitter patent war ensued, eventually resolved by the formation of the Sewing Machine Combination — one of the first patent pools — in 1856. Earlier attempts at mechanical sewing include Barthélemy Thimonnier's French machine (1830). The sewing machine transformed the garment industry, enabling mass production of clothing.