1811-1875. US inventor of domestic and
industrial sewing machines. Within a few
years of opening his first factory 1851, he
became the world's largest manufacturer
(despite charges of patent infringement by
Elias Howe), and by the late 1860s more than
100,000 Singer sewing machines were in use in
the USA alone. To make his machines available
to the widest market, Singer became the first
manufacturer to offer attractive
hire-purchase terms.