Strauss founded clothing company Levi Strauss & Co., the maker of Levi's blue jeans.

Born in Bavaria, he emigrated to the United States in 1847, and in the 1850s moved to San Francisco during the California Gold Rush to open a dry-goods wholesale business.

• In 1873, he and tailor Jacob W. Davis received a patent for riveted work pants, the forerunner of modern blue jeans.

• He was a noted philanthropist, funding 28 scholarships at the University of California in 1897.