In 1852, Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant, opened a textile company in San Francisco during the peak of the California gold rush. As he worked, he realized the need of all hardworking people: to have clothes made to withstand anything. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis combined a durable denim fabric with reinforcing rivets, so in 1873 the first overalls were born. Today we call them "blue jeans."