There's nothing quite like it. You settle into your favorite chair after a long day, pull the lever, and up comes the footrest as the back eases down. For millions of Americans, the recliner is the official throne of Sunday afternoons. But who first thought of a chair that leans back?
Here's the short answer. Reclining furniture goes back well over a century and a half. Around 1850, the French introduced a reclining camp bed that doubled as a chair. In 1866, the English firm of designer William Morris began selling the Morris chair, with an adjustable back. Then, in the late 1920s, American cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker patented a reclining chair that launched the famous La-Z-Boy company.
Early Leaners
The French camp bed of around 1850 was a clever multitasker. It could serve as a chair, a bed, and a chaise longue. It was portable, with padded armrests and a steel frame. The very first reclining chair was reportedly owned by Napoleon III, the French emperor.
In the late 1800s, inventors in France and America came up with all kinds of motion chairs made of wood with padded seats and backs. Some even included a holder for a book or papers. The word recliner itself began being used for a type of chair in 1880.
The Morris Chair
One of the best-known early reclining chairs came from England. William Morris's company adapted the design from a chair owned by a man in rural Sussex and began marketing it around 1866.
Its signature feature was a hinged back set between two arms. You adjusted the angle using a row of pegs, holes, or notches. The idea caught on in America, where hundreds of thousands of Morris-style chairs were made between about 1890 and 1930, some sold by big catalog companies like Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward.
Orange Crates and a Naming Contest
In 1927, cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker went into the furniture business together in Monroe, Michigan. They wanted to design a chair for what they called nature's way of relaxing. Using orange crates to mock up their idea, they invented a wood-slat porch chair that reclined.
They received a patent in 1928. Then they upholstered the chair and marketed it as a year-round piece of furniture for the home. In 1930, they patented an upholstered model with a mechanical movement. To name their creation, they held a contest, and the winning name was La-Z-Boy.
Recliners Go to Space, and the White House
Recliners had some surprising chapters. In 1959, Daniel Caldemeyer of Evansville, Indiana, patented a recliner design based on what he learned in the U.S. Air Force. NASA used his design for seats in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, and his chairs sat in the astronauts' ready room.
The Secret Service even bought 50 of his recliners for President Lyndon B. Johnson as a Christmas gift, embossed with the Presidential Seal. One now belongs to the Smithsonian. Caldemeyer, who held over 300 patents, added features like a foot lift, heated seats, and massage.
Today, La-Z-Boy, still based in Monroe, Michigan, employs more than 11,000 people. So the next time you lean back and put your feet up, give a little thanks to an emperor, a Victorian designer, and two cousins with a stack of orange crates.
