Levi Strauss died. Inventor and manufacturer of jeans.  He originally planned to make canvas tents for miners in the California gold rush, but soon found that durable pants sold better ; born Löb Strauß, German: February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.