Robert E. L. Whitcomb, age 93, lifelong resident of Merrimac, passed Sunday, July 2, 2023 at Portsmouth Regional Hospital after sustaining injuries from a car accident. He was the loving husband of ...

Whitcomb Judson was raised in Chicago, fought with the Union Army in the Civil War and was wounded in battle. He produced inventions post-war, none more famous or useful than the zipper, which he ...

Oh how different this world would be without the inventiveness of Whitcomb Judson and Gideon Sundback. Getting dressed in the morning would be more difficult without their creation. Even putting my ...

Look around yourself right now and chances are pretty good that you’ll quickly lay eyes on a zipper. Zippers are incredibly commonplace artifacts, a commodity item produced by the mile that we rarely ...

THE Chicago inventor with the unusual name, Whitcomb Judson, experienced some very unusual things as an inventor, even after he died. Inventions are often referred to by their patented name. For ...

Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 29, according to the Tribune’s archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. The patent for a "clasp locker" for ...

Even though it's a simple everyday device, the zipper contributed to the iconic style of Hollywood rebels Marlon Brando and James Dean, flew to the moon and led to the censorship of an album by The ...

ANSWER: The zipper is so common and has been around for so long, we don’t give much thought to where it came from or how it works. It is one of those devices that is not absolutely necessary but is ...

It has perhaps lost in popularity through the COVID pandemic, as people working from home often prefer elastic waistband pants. But whenever we are required to get out of the house, it reappears ...