Marquis Mills Converse

Founder of the Converse Rubber Shoe Company.

At age 47, Marquis Mills Converse, who was previously a manager at a footwear manufacturing firm, opened the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in February 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts. The company was a rubber shoe manufacturer, providing winterized rubber soled footwear for men, women, and children. By 1910, Converse was producing shoes daily, but it was not until 1915 that the company began manufacturing athletic shoes.

The company's catalyst came in 1917 when the Converse All-Star basketball shoe was introduced. Then in 1923, a basketball player named Charles H. "Chuck" Taylor walked into Converse complaining of sore feet. Converse gave him a job: he worked as a salesman and ambassador, promoting the shoes around the U.S., and in 1932 Taylor’s signature was added to the All-Star patch on the classic, high-topped sneakers. He continued this work until shortly before his death in 1969. Converse also customized shoes for the New York Renaissance (the "Rens"), the first all–African American professional basketball team. In 1962, center Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points in an NBA game while wearing a pair of Chucks, taking a 169–147 victory over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse_(shoe_company)

Founder of the Converse Rubber Shoe Company.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converse