Whitcomb L. Judson Whitcomb L. Judson Whitcomb L. Judson (March 7, 1846 – December 7, 1909) was an American machine salesman, mechanical engineer and inventor. Judson invented the zipper in the 1890s. Judson was born in Chicago, Illinois. According to the 1860 census, he lived in Illinois, and served in the Union army. He enlisted in 1861 at Oneida, Illinois in the Forty-Second Illinois Cavalry. Judson attended Knox College in his hometown Galesburg, Illinois. He was found in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1886. In 1886 and 1887 the Minneapolis city directory identifies Judson as a "traveling agent" — a traveling salesman working probably for
Judson High School way for new athletic fields and tennis courts, and the Gray Campus was re-purposed into Judson Middle School. The Judson ISD Performing Arts Center (PAC), constructed in 1998, houses the band, choir, orchestra, and drama classes. The PAC facility has a recital hall that seats 216 people, and an Auditorium that has 840 seats. The Judson ISD Performing Arts Center is physically connected to Judson High School via a vestibule. Judson was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1999-2000. Before 2005 Judson was the only high school in the district. Karen Wagner High School opened in Fall 2005, and