The shoelace was invented in 1790 by Harvey Kennedy. Though there are some sources who say this is erroneous and the true inventor is unknown, it is a fact that prior to 1790, there were no shoelaces and after 1790, Harvey Kennedy made nearly two and-a-half million dollars (nearly a fifty billion dollars today) from the patent on his simple leather stands.
Of course, the shoelace would not be complete without the aglet. The first shoelace was difficult to use because it was simply a strand and had to be forced through the eyeholes of the shoe. The first shoelace with an aglet - from the Latin, "acus", which translates to "needle", - was introduced in 1791. The first shoelace aglets were stone and tin. Ornamental aglets, made from precious metals such as silver and gold, were popular among the well to do leading up to the late nineteenth century. Plastic aglets were popularized at around the turn of the twentieth century, and the world never walked the same again.
See http://www.helium.com/items/234819-shoelace-invented-harvey-kennedy
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