George de Mestral biography
Profile
Famed engineer and inventor George de Mestral was born in Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges, Vaud, a small town bordering Lake Geneva near the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 19, 1907. After becoming curious about the burrs sticking to his clothing following an outdoor excursion in 1948, and subsequently looking at the nuisance under a microscope, de Mestral realized that he could create a synthetic product that mimicked the hooks and loops. Thusly, the locking material now known as Velcro® was born in 1955. That year, after finalizing his nylon-based design, de Mestral patented the material. He later sold his rights to the Velcro® company. Velcro® has since been used by the likes of NASA and medical professionals. De Mestral died in Nyon, Switzerland, on February 8, 1990.