Linus Yale Jr. Perhaps the best locksmith in American history, it stands to reason that he himself was the son of the best locksmiths in New York. Considering the first documented lock, we can say that the history of locks began 2,700 years ago in Ancient Egypt. Carrying his father's legacy further, Linus Yale patented a foldable cylindrical lock with pins.
He then perfected the combination lock (a lock normally used to secure safes). Harry Soref is one of the locksmiths who made this possible with his laminated padlock. And once he founded the Master Lock company in 1921, he even started manufacturing these locks himself. He may have been a brilliant wizard, but Harry Houdini is included in this list (and in the history of locks) because he was also a locksmith wizard.
While it may not be his most recognized quality, King Louis XVI was an avid fan of carpentry and metallurgy. He hired the services of a friend Francois Gamain and learned to make locks. Louis was known for spending hours creating locks with intricate details. Harry Houdini was a famous wizard known for his wild acts of escape.
Being able to open a lock in such stressful circumstances required years of practice and familiarity with locking mechanisms. This sparked the interest of several notable historical figures who took an interest in locksmith, which helped to push the technology forward. Although these historical figures left their mark elsewhere, there are quite a few well-known locksmiths that may surprise you. Few can name a famous historical figure who was known solely for his skills in the locksmith industry, since being a locksmith is a humble profession.
After moving to the United States from Hungary with his family, 11-year-old Houdini began working for the local locksmith and quickly turned to the trade. Francois Gamain, a friend of Louis and a royal locksmith, educated the king in the trade of locksmith. With the most well-known name in the lock industry, Yale started as a locksmith thanks to his father, who specialized in the production of high-security bank locks. After working as a locksmith for a while, he realized that normal lock models were prone to being easily damaged.
Houdini began working as an apprentice locksmith at age 11 and developed the trade once he moved to the United States. Like Hart, there were other locksmiths who, wanting to defeat Houdini, went a step further and tried to design safer locks. Einstein is considered one of the brightest minds of all time and Time magazine named him Person of the Century (20th) and people called him “the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the Universe”.
