The Sole Man: Jan Matzeliger’s Lasting Invention

In 1873, twenty-one-year-old Jan Ernst Matzeliger leaves South America and immigrates to the United States. This account follows the determined Black mechanic as he faces the challenges of a new country in the late nineteenth century. Despite those obstacles, he designs a complex machine used in shoemaking. The book connects Matzeliger’s migration and mechanical work with the invention that became his lasting contribution.