Mary Phelps Jacob

The first modern brassiere to receive a patent and gain wide acceptance was a bra invented by a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob in 1910. Born on 20 April 1891 in New Rochelle, New York, "Polly" was the daughter of a prominent New England family. Her ancestry included William Bradford, the Plymouth Colony's first governor and Robert Fulton, developer of the steamboat.

Related Topics:
Brassiere - 20 April - 1891 - New York - William Bradford - Plymouth Colony - Robert Fulton - Steamboat

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Polly's family was not fabulously rich, but her father had been raised, as she put it, "to ride to hounds, sail boats, and lead cotillions," and he lived high. She grew up, she later said, "in a world where only good smells existed." "What I wanted," she said of her privileged childhood, "usually came to pass." A childhood of privilege included private school, dancing school, and horse riding school. She was a rather uninterested student. One commentator writes that for the most part Polly "lived her life in dreams." (Wolff).

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