Elias Howe was an American inventor and mechanical engineer who is credited with inventing the first practical sewing machine in 1846. He was born in Spencer, Massachusetts in 1819 and died in Brooklyn, New York in 1867. His invention revolutionized the clothing industry and made mass production of garments possible. Friedrich Canetti was a Swiss-born British banker and businessman who founded the banking firm Canetti & Co. in London in 1876. He was born in Zurich in 1844 and died in London in 1921. He was a major figure in the development of the banking industry in Britain and Europe.