Timothy S. Leatherman | |
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Born | |
Education | Oregon State University |
Timothy S. Leatherman (born June 7, 1948) is an American businessman, and the founder and Shareholder of Leatherman Tool Group, Inc..
Leatherman graduated from Oregon State University in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. [1] According to an article in The Oregonian , "Leatherman came up with the idea of a 'Boy Scout knife with pliers' during a 1975 driving tour of Europe with his wife, when he was unable to use his pocket knife to fix his repeatedly malfunctioning car." [2] It took him several months afterwards to refine his idea, and he was granted a patent on the first Leatherman tool in 1980. [3] Leatherman spent the next few years attempting to market his product to large companies with technical staff, such as AT&T, but this was largely unsuccessful. The tool eventually gained popularity through mail order catalogues. [2]