Today, April 10, marks International Safety Pin Day. It’s the day in 1849 when Walter Hunt, a mechanic from New York, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,281 for his invention of the dress pin. While the design seems simple, it’s probably one of the most useful, yet overlooked, inventions.
It all started because Walter Hunt owed a friend $15, a small sum today, but significant in the mid-19th century. So he needed to pay off that debt, and to earn money, he took an eight-inch piece of brass wire and started twisting. He added a circular spring at one end so the pin would stay open when released, and a clasp at the other to shield the sharp point. This was a major improvement over the ‘dress pins’ of the time, which often left users with pricked fingers.
While the safety pin became a global success, Hunt himself didn’t get rich from it. Shortly after receiving his patent, he sold the rights to W.R. Grace and Company for just $400. He used $15 of that to pay his debt and kept the remaining $385.
The invention eventually generated millions of dollars. Sadly, this wasn’t the first loss for Hunt. Though he was a creative inventor, creating an early sewing machine, a fountain pen, and a knife sharpener, he rarely reaped the full financial rewards of his work. The safety pin’s design hasn’t changed much since 1849, proving just how perfect Hunt’s original idea was.
The safety pin has also become a powerful symbol. In the 1970s, it became a staple of punk rock fashion. In 2016, people started wearing safety pins as a sign of solidarity and support for marginalized groups, signaling that the wearer is a “safe” person to turn to, as a reaction to rising hate incidents and political shifts.
Happy Birthday, safety pin! Here’s to many more years of holding things together.
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