Tyler Howe was born on August 11, 1800, to Elijah and Frances "Fanny" Howe in Spencer, Massachusetts. He was the fifth of 10 children, and the fifth-eldest son. His father was a farmer who spent many hours improving his own farm equipment. Tyler was born in their family's one-room farmhouse, known as Howe's Mills. Howe was educated in the localpublic schools, and spent his childhood and teen years assisting on the farm as well as at his father's gristmill and sawmill. In 1833, having invented a machine that cut palm leaves into strips for weaving into hats, Howe moved to Watertown, Massachusetts, and established a palm leaf factory there. He moved his business to the neighborhood of Cambridgeport in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1835.
The box-spring bed
Hearing of the 1848 California Gold Rush, Howe sailed around South America through the Drake Passage to reach California. He returned to Massachusetts in 1850, having run out of money and found no gold. The trip to California was a harsh one, particularly the sleeping accommodations. Beds consisted of little more than planks of wood nailed to a frame, and the slightest movement of the ship was transferred to the sleeper—making for restless sleep, and often inducing seasickness. Determined to invent an improved bed, Howe began work on a bed in which elliptical springs supported free-floating slats, and the frame of the bed kept the slats in a rectangular shape. In 1853, Tyle Howe developed the first box-spring bed. He established a factory in Cambridgeport to begin manufacture of his invention, on which he received a patent in 1855. With his second-eldest son, Otis, he formed a company, Tyler Howe & Co., that same year to manufacture and market the box-spring. The company later changed its name to Howe Spring-Bed Company, and opened a showroom at 173 Canal Street in New York City. Howe and his son later patented a number of improvements to the box-spring, and Howe became very wealthy. Howe was healthy and still working at his factory even at the end of his life. He died on June 9, 1880, at his home in Cambridge, several days after suffering a stroke.
Personal life
Tyler Howe married Marcia Ann Prouty on March 31, 1822. She died in 1872. The couple had six children. Howe's younger brother, William invented the Howe truss bridge. His nephew, Elias Howe, Jr., invented the first practical sewing machine.
