John Simmons (clothing manufacturer)
- John Simmons (clothing manufacturer)
John Simmons (October 30, 1796 – August 29, 1870) was a pioneer in clothing manufacturing and the founder of Simmons College, a liberal arts women's college in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was born in Little Compton, Rhode Island and grew up on a family farm. As a teenager, he traveled to Boston to join his elder brother, who had become a tailor. Working as a tailor, John Simmons noticed that many customers required clothing in similar sizes, and he struck upon the idea of making up clothes in common sizes in advance. He was thus an innovator in making ready-to-wear clothing in standard sizes. [cite web |url=http://my.simmons.edu/counsel/pdfs/employeeHandbook.pdf |title=Simmons College Employee Handbook |accessdate=2008-05-19 |page=13 |work= ]
By the end of the American Civil War, he had become the country’s largest clothing manufacturer. With the profits from his clothing business, he became a real estate investor and eventually owned much of the Financial District in Boston.
When Simmons died in 1870, his will provided for his estate to "found and endow an institution to be called Simmons Female College, for the purpose of teaching medicine, music, drawing, designing, telegraphy, and other branches of art, science, and industry best calculated to enable the scholars to acquire an independent livelihood." [ cite web |url=http://www.simmons.edu/inauguration/presidents/simmons/ |title=John Simmons, Founder |accessdate=2008-05-05 |author=John Simmons |date= |work= |publisher=Simmons College ]
The founding of this institution was delayed by the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which destroyed most of his properties. The rebuilding took many years, and it was only in 1899 that the institution was finally established. [cite web |url=http://my.simmons.edu/counsel/pdfs/employeeHandbook.pdf |title=Simmons College Employee Handbook |accessdate=2008-05-19 |page=13 |work= ] Today it is known as Simmons College.
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