# George de Mestral
**George de Mestral** (19 June 1907, Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges, Switzerland, to 8 February 1990, Commugny, Switzerland) was a Swiss engineer and inventor who created the hook-and-loop fastener, marketed as Velcro®, after studying how burdock burrs attach to animal fur and fabric[1](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/031519/2007-11-30/) • [2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). His invention is among the best-known examples of biomimicry, the practice of using natural models as the basis for engineering design[3](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-story/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 19 June 1907, Saint-Saphorin-sur-Morges; 8 February 1990, Commugny, Switzerland[1](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/031519/2007-11-30/) |
| Signature idea | Burdock burrs clinging to his trousers and his dog's fur on a 1941 hunting trip, examined under a microscope[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/) |
| Patents | Swiss patent filed 1951 and issued 16 March 1954; US patent 2,717,437 granted 13 September 1955[4](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/) • [5](https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dd/e5/a7/d781d1d7a5dbdf/US2717437.pdf) |
| Company | Velcro S.A., formed in Switzerland in 1952 with Alfred Gonet, Andre-Louis Burnier, and Jean Michaud[4](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/) |
| Name | Velcro, from the French *velours* (velvet) and *crochet* (hook)[6](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor) |
| Trademarks | Registered in Switzerland in 1956 and in the United States in 1958[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/) |
| Recognition | National Inventors Hall of Fame, 1999[7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro) |
## The burr observation
De Mestral trained as an engineer at the [École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne](https://www.edgepedia.org/ecole-polytechnique-federale-de-lausanne) and worked in a Swiss engineering company's machine shop while pursuing inventions in his spare time; as a boy of 12 he had already designed and patented a toy airplane[7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro). The idea that defined his career came on a hunting trip in 1941, when burrs from the greater burdock plant (*[Arctium lappa](https://www.edgepedia.org/arctium-lappa)*) clung to his trousers and to the coat of his Irish Pointer[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). Some accounts, including the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center, date the walk to 1948[6](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor).
Under the microscope he saw that each burr was covered with hundreds of tiny elastic hooks on its bracts, which gripped the loops of fabric and fur[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/) • [8](https://tu-dresden.de/bg/standorte/dresden/transl/bionik/haftstrukturen?set_language=en). The burr used structure rather than glue or sap, and the hooks did not break off even when the burr was pulled rigorously from hair or clothing[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/) • [8](https://tu-dresden.de/bg/standorte/dresden/transl/bionik/haftstrukturen?set_language=en). He concluded that a manufactured fastener could reproduce the same hook-and-loop mechanism[6](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor).
## Development and patents
Turning the observation into a product took roughly a decade. The loop side of the fastener was relatively easy to weave, but the hook side was hard: each hook had to hold firmly when pressed and release cleanly when pulled[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). De Mestral visited fabric plants across Europe, where many manufacturers were skeptical, and eventually found weaving expertise in Lyon, France[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). There he settled on nylon, a material with the durability and shape memory needed for hooks to survive repeated use[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). His US patent describes the method: auxiliary warp threads of synthetic resin are formed into loops around heated carrier bars, thermally set in that shape, and then cut so that each loop yields a pile thread with a hook-shaped end[5](https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dd/e5/a7/d781d1d7a5dbdf/US2717437.pdf).
**Patents and company.** De Mestral filed for Swiss patent protection in 1951, and the first Swiss patent was issued on 16 March 1954[4](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/). The US patent 2,717,437, "Velvet Type Fabric and Method of Producing Same," was filed 15 October 1952, claimed priority from a Swiss application of 22 October 1951, and was granted on 13 September 1955[5](https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dd/e5/a7/d781d1d7a5dbdf/US2717437.pdf). In 1952 he formed Velcro S.A. in Switzerland with Alfred Gonet, Andre-Louis Burnier, and Jean Michaud, and took out a $150,000 loan to continue development[4](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/) • [2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). The name Velcro combines the French *velours* (velvet) and *crochet* (hook)[6](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor). The trademark was registered in Switzerland in 1956 and in the United States in 1958[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/).
## Commercialization
[Mass production](https://www.edgepedia.org/mass-production) was the remaining obstacle. Early hooks could only be made by hand, and the woven loops had to be cut at a precise angle to function; de Mestral solved this with a cutting method inspired by barbers' clippers, which allowed a loom to produce uniform hooks[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). By the end of the 1950s, textile shuttle looms could mass-produce the fastener, which contained about 300 hooks and loops per square inch[7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro).
The product, introduced around 1960, was slow to catch on at first; manufacturers were accustomed to buttons, zippers, and stitching[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/) • [7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro). Adoption by the aerospace industry changed that. Velcro Companies began working with NASA in 1961 on hook-and-loop solutions for the [Apollo program](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-program), used for securing boots, instruments, and equipment in weightlessness, and VELCRO® fasteners accompanied astronauts on the 1969 moon landing[4](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/) • [9](https://www.ige.ch/en/blog/blog-article/die-wunderbare-geschichte-des-klettverschlusses). Once children's clothing and sports apparel manufacturers adopted the fastener, the company was selling over 60 million yards per year, making de Mestral a multimillionaire[7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro).
## How the fastener works
The mechanism relies on many small hooks acting together. When the hook strip and loop strip are pressed over a large area, the holding forces of the individual hooks add up; pulling the strips apart at an angle releases the connections gradually, with little force[8](https://tu-dresden.de/bg/standorte/dresden/transl/bionik/haftstrukturen?set_language=en). Later patents extended the principle to mushroom- or club-shaped pins that grip each other in the gaps[8](https://tu-dresden.de/bg/standorte/dresden/transl/bionik/haftstrukturen?set_language=en).
"Velcro" remains a trademark identifying products of Velcro Companies; the generic term for the technology is "hook and loop fastener," a distinction the company actively promotes[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/).
## Later life and legacy
De Mestral long since sold the rights to his creation and moved on to other inventions, including an asparagus peeler; he died in Commugny in 1990, the village where his breakthrough had taken root[2](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/). He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999[7](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro). Hook-and-loop fasteners are now used in footwear, jackets, bags, medical devices, and spacecraft, and the Swiss Post honored the invention with a postage stamp in its series on Swiss inventions[6](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor) • [9](https://www.ige.ch/en/blog/blog-article/die-wunderbare-geschichte-des-klettverschlusses).
## References
1. [Mestral, George de, Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), 2007](https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/031519/2007-11-30/)
2. [How George de Mestral Invented the VELCRO® Brand Fastener, Velcro Companies](https://www.velcro.com/news-and-blog/2026/02/an-idea-that-stuck-how-george-de-mestral-invented-the-velcro-fastener/)
3. [Our Story, Velcro Companies History](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-story/)
4. [Our Timeline of Innovation, Velcro Companies History](https://www.velcro.co.uk/original-thinking/our-timeline-of-innovation/)
5. [US Patent 2,717,437, Velvet Type Fabric and Method of Producing Same, George de Mestral, 13 September 1955](https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/dd/e5/a7/d781d1d7a5dbdf/US2717437.pdf)
6. [George de Mestral: Velcro® Inventor, Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution](https://invention.si.edu/invention-stories/george-de-mestral-velcror-inventor)
7. [1990: Death of George de Mestral, APS News, February 2004](https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2004/02/death-george-mestral-velcro)
8. [Burdocks and Velcro, Reversible adhesive structures, Botanical Garden, TU Dresden](https://tu-dresden.de/bg/standorte/dresden/transl/bionik/haftstrukturen?set_language=en)
9. [The wonderful story of Velcro, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property](https://www.ige.ch/en/blog/blog-article/die-wunderbare-geschichte-des-klettverschlusses)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineering and manufacturing › Engineers (biographies) › Electrical and semiconductor engineers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license