James albert bonsack biography channel
James Albert Bonsack
American inventor
James A. Bonsack | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1859-10-09)October 9, 1859 |
| Died | (1924-06-01)June 1, 1924 |
James Albert Bonsack (October 9, 1859,[1][2] – June 1, 1924) was an American inventor who developed an early cigarette rolling machine in 1880, and patented it the following year.
Early life
James A. Bonsack was born in eastern Roanoke County, Virginia. His father, Jacob Bonsack, owned a woolen mill where James learned about industrial machinery. In 1878 he was admitted to the Lutheran Roanoke College, but decided to withdraw to work on designing a cigarette rolling machine.[3][4] After building a successful prototype and patenting his invention, he registered the Bonsack Machine Company of Virginia on March 27, 1883.[3] Following a court battle of alleged patent infringement by the inventor of a competing rolling machine, Bonsack paid $18,000 to buy out the competitor's patent c