Who is the only U.S. President to have held a patent?
"autograph in the lower right corner. The Smithsonian Institution acquired about 10,000 patent models, including Lincoln's. The Engineering Collection includes about 75 maritime inventions; its Maritime Collections holds a replica, the original being deemed too fragile to loan. The National Museum of American History Political History Collections retains a copy of the patent papers. Abraham Lincoln's patent Abraham Lincoln's patent relates to an invention to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in a river. It is the only United States patent ever registered to a President of the United States. Lincoln conceived the idea of inventing a mechanism that would"
"Abraham Lincoln's patent Abraham Lincoln's patent relates to an invention to lift boats over shoals and obstructions in a river. It is the only United States patent ever registered to a President of the United States. Lincoln conceived the idea of inventing a mechanism that would lift a boat over shoals and obstructions when on two different occasions the boat on which he traveled got hung up on obstructions. The original documentation of this patent was rediscovered in 1997. This device was composed of large bellows attached to the sides of a boat that were expandable due to air chambers."
"the earliest filing date. The only President of the United States to hold a patent was Abraham Lincoln for a ""device to buoy vessels over shoals""; it consisted of a set of retractable floats mounted on the sides of riverboats. History of United States patent law The history of United States patent law started even before the U.S. Constitution was adopted, with some state-specific patent laws. The history spans over more than three centuries. The oldest form of a patent was seen in Medieval times. Medieval rulers would grant an exclusive right to a ""monopoly."" This was sometimes an attempt"
"his wife. David Ladd (attorney) David Lowell Ladd (September 18, 1926 – October 12, 1994) was a former Commissioner of Patents and Register of Copyrights in the United States, the first (and currently only) individual to serve in both offices. Ladd was born in Portsmouth, Ohio and attended the University of Chicago, where he received a bachelor of arts degree and, later, a degree in law. In 1961, Ladd was appointed to lead the U.S. Patent Office by President John F. Kennedy. At age 35, he was the second youngest man to ever hold the position. As Commissioner of Patents,"
"James Buchanan Eads Captain James Buchanan Eads (May 23, 1820 – March 8, 1887) was a world-renowned American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than 50 patents. Eads was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and named for his mother's cousin, future President of the United States James Buchanan. Eads' father, Thomas C. Eads pursued a fortune to no avail and the family moved several times. Eads grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. The family lost all of their possessions in a steamboat fire as they landed in St. Louis in 1833. Thomas Eads' business ventures in St. Louis failed, and he"
"All patents in the United States, except where noted: Francis C. Osborn Sr. Francis Conrad Osborn Sr. (Dec. 10, 1856–May 25, 1927) was a teacher, businessman and inventor. He held about 50 patents for cash register designs, springless scales, and other devices. Son of Ozias and Mary C. (Herbener) Osborn, he was born and raised in Bridgeport, New York. He was educated in local schools and Cazenovia Seminary. Osborn taught in public schools of Fayetteville, New York in 1880-1882 before enrolling at Syracuse University, where he graduated with honors in 1885. He was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. After"
"its efficacy. In the United States, patent law has a constitutional foundation, was supported by the country's founders, and was viewed as an indispensable engine for economic development. It led him to deliver two lectures on the subject, and was reflected in his approach as president. Lincoln had an attraction to machinelike accessories all his life, which some say was hereditary and handed down to him from his father's interest in labor-saving equipment. He made speeches on inventions before he became president. He said in 1858, ""Man is not the only animal who labors; but he is the only one"
"first patent in North America was issued to Samuel Winslow by the General Court of Massachusetts for a new method of making salt. On April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the Patent Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 109) into law proclaiming that patents were to be authorized for ""any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement therein not before known or used"". On July 31, 1790, Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person in the United States to file and to be granted a patent for an improved method of ""Making Pot and Pearl"
"the first patent in North America was issued to Samuel Winslow by the General Court of Massachusetts for a new method of making salt. On April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the Patent Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 109) into law which proclaimed that patents were to be authorized for ""any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement therein not before known or used."" On July 31, 1790, Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became the first person in the United States to file and to be granted a patent under the new U.S. patent statute. The"
"Haren S. Gandhi Dr. Haren S. Gandhi (May 2, 1941 – January 23, 2010) was an American inventor and engineer, a recipient of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, noted for his research and inventions in the field of automotive exhaust catalysts. Gandhi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999 ""for contributions to the research and development of automotive catalysts"". Gandhi held 53 U.S. patents. He was also the director of chemical engineering and a Henry Ford Technical Fellow at the Ford Motor Company. President George W. Bush presented Gandhi with the National Medal of"
"cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly the conflicts arising from the operation of river barges under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him. In fact, he later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge. In 1849, he received a patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but Lincoln is the only president to hold a patent. In"
"first patent in North America was issued to Samuel Winslow by the General Court of Massachusetts for a new method of making salt. On April 10, 1790, President George Washington signed the Patent Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 109) into law which proclaimed that patents were to be authorized for ""any useful art, manufacture, engine, machine, or device, or any improvement therein not before known or used."" On July 31, 1790, Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person in the United States to file and to be granted a patent for an improved method of ""Making Pot and"
"1818. Samuel Hopkins (inventor) Samuel Hopkins (December 9, 1743 – 1818) was an American inventor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, On July 31, 1790, he was granted the first U.S. patent, under the new U.S. patent statute just signed into law by President Washington on April 10, 1790. Hopkins had petitioned for a patent on an improvement ""in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process."" The statute did not create a Patent Office. Instead a committee of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General were authorized to make a decision on"
"Technology and Innovation at the White House in 2003. The National Academy of Engineering called Gandhi ""one of the world's foremost authorities in the area of automotive emissions control"". Haren S. Gandhi Dr. Haren S. Gandhi (May 2, 1941 – January 23, 2010) was an American inventor and engineer, a recipient of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, noted for his research and inventions in the field of automotive exhaust catalysts. Gandhi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1999 ""for contributions to the research and development of automotive catalysts"". Gandhi held 53 U.S. patents. He"
"Samuel Hopkins (inventor) Samuel Hopkins (December 9, 1743 – 1818) was an American inventor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, On July 31, 1790, he was granted the first U.S. patent, under the new U.S. patent statute just signed into law by President Washington on April 10, 1790. Hopkins had petitioned for a patent on an improvement ""in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process."" The statute did not create a Patent Office. Instead a committee of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General were authorized to make a decision on the"
"Timeline of United States inventions (1946–91) A timeline of United States inventions (1946–1991) encompasses the ingenuity and innovative advancements of the United States within a historical context, dating from the era of the Cold War, which have been achieved by inventors who are either native-born or naturalized citizens of the United States. Copyright protection secures a person's right to his or her first-to-invent claim of the ""original"" invention in question, highlighted in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution which gives the following enumerated power to the United States Congress: In 1641, the first patent in"
"United States Congress under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act. It was a bipartisan effort to foster technological innovation and the technological competitiveness of the United States in the international arena. The first National Medals of Technology were issued in 1985 by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan to 12 individuals and one company. Among the first recipients were Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer. The medal has since been awarded annually. On August 9, 2007, President George Bush signed the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science) Act of 2007. The Act amended"
"David Ladd (attorney) David Lowell Ladd (September 18, 1926 – October 12, 1994) was a former Commissioner of Patents and Register of Copyrights in the United States, the first (and currently only) individual to serve in both offices. Ladd was born in Portsmouth, Ohio and attended the University of Chicago, where he received a bachelor of arts degree and, later, a degree in law. In 1961, Ladd was appointed to lead the U.S. Patent Office by President John F. Kennedy. At age 35, he was the second youngest man to ever hold the position. As Commissioner of Patents, Ladd led"
"bulb. Thomas Edison bought the Woodward patent for $5,000 US before he began his development work so that Woodward would not be able to sue him for patent infringement after Edison became commercially successful. Under United States patent law, inventorship is also regarded as a patentability criterion. It is a constitutional requirement. Congress's ability to grant patents is authorized only for the inventor. This was confirmed by case law: ""Inventorship is indeed relevant to patentability under 35 U.S.C. § 102(f), and patents have in the past been held unenforceable for failure to correctly name inventors in cases where the named"
"The first patent was issued to James H. Van Houten of Savannah, Georgia on August 1, 1861 for a ""breech-loading gun"". One of the more well-known Confederate patents (at least based on the results) was Patent No. 100, granted to John Mercer Brooke for the design of the Confederate ironclad ship ""Merrimack"", more properly known as the CSS ""Virginia"". Confederate Patent Office The Confederate Patent Office was the agency of the Confederate States of America charged with issuing patents on inventions. The Chief Clerk during its entire existence was Rufus R. Rhodes of Mississippi who resigned his post at the"
"Mary Dixon Kies Mary Dixon Kies (March 21, 1752 – 1837) was an American inventor. On May 5, 1809, her patent for a new technique of weaving straw with silk and thread to make hats was signed by President James Madison. Some sources state that she was the first American woman to receive a patent, however others state that Hannah Slater was the first. Mary's father, John Dixon, was a farmer born in 1679 in Ulster, Ireland. Her mother, Janet Kennedy, was John Dixon's third wife. They had married in Voluntown, Connecticut on August 7, 1741. Mary Dixon was born"
"United States Congress abolished the legal requirement for them in 1870, but the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) kept the requirement until 1880. On July 31, 1790 inventor Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. His patented invention was an improvement in the ""making of Pot Ash by a new apparatus & process."" These earliest patent law required that a working model of each invention be produced in miniature. Some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the twentieth century. In some cases, an inventor may still want"
"from President Clinton in a White House ceremony. He was the recipient of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for 2001, the world's largest for innovation. And in 2002 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, established by the U.S. Patent Office. He has received 21 honorary doctorates, and honors from three U.S. presidents. PBS included Kurzweil as one of 16 ""revolutionaries who made America"" along with other inventors of the past two centuries. ""Inc."" magazine ranked him #8 among the ""most fascinating"" entrepreneurs in the United States and called him ""Edison's rightful heir"". Kurzweil has written seven books,"
"Confederate Patent Office The Confederate Patent Office was the agency of the Confederate States of America charged with issuing patents on inventions. The Chief Clerk during its entire existence was Rufus R. Rhodes of Mississippi who resigned his post at the United States Patent Office after the election of Abraham Lincoln. The Confederate Patent Office is known to have issued 266 patents, and likely it issued some more during the early months of 1865. Unfortunately, the records it contained were destroyed in a fire. Very few patent documents issued by the CPO, likely fewer than 10, are known to survive."
"John Bardeen (1908–1991) shared the Nobel Prize in Physics twice — in 1956, as co-inventor of the transistor and in 1972, for the explanation of superconductivity. The transistor paved the way for all modern electronics, from computers to microchips. Diverse applications of superconductivity include infrared sensors and medical imaging systems."" The other scientists on the ""American Scientists"" sheet include biochemist Gerty Cori, chemist Linus Pauling and astronomer Edwin Hubble. John Bardeen John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and electrical engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in"
"Timeline of United States inventions (after 1991) A timeline of United States inventions (after 1991) encompasses the ingenuity and innovative advancements of the United States within a historical context, dating from the Contemporary era to the present day, which have been achieved by inventors who are either native-born or naturalized citizens of the United States. Patent protection secures a person's right to his or her first-to-invent claim of the ""original"" invention in question, highlighted in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution which gives the following enumerated power to the United States Congress: In 1641, the"
"won the case in an opinion authored by Supreme Court Judge John McLean. Upon Lincoln's taking office, he offered Harding the job of Commissioner of Patents, which was refused. He later offered the position of United States Secretary of War to Stanton, who accepted and served. Lincoln's final patent case was ""Dawson v. Ennis"". It occurred between his presidential nomination and the election. His electoral triumph was juxtaposed with a litigation loss for his client. The original 1846 patent drawing was discovered in the United States Patent Office director's office in 1997. Its only omission is the usually required inventor's"
"Leahy-Smith America Invents Act The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant legislative change to the U.S. patent system since the Patent Act of 1952 and closely resembles previously proposed legislation in the Senate in its previous session (Patent Reform Act of 2009). Named for its lead sponsors, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Act switches the U.S. patent system from a ""first to invent"" to a ""first"
"U.S. Patent No. 1 U.S. Patent No. 1 is a board game designed by Falko Goettsch & James Ernest, and published by Cheapass Games in 2001. Each player's goal is to assemble a complete time machine (four components required), and travel back to the day the U.S. Patent Office opened so as to secure the first patent issued for their efforts. The first actual U.S. patent was issued on July 31, 1790, to Samuel Hopkins for manufacture of potash. The game's cover art states that ""But if you have a time machine, it doesn't really matter who invented it first."
"Tax patent A tax patent is a patent that discloses and claims a system or method for reducing or deferring taxes. Tax patents have been granted predominantly in the United States but can be granted in other countries as well. They are considered to be a form of business method patent. They are also called ""tax planning patents"", ""tax strategy patents"", and ""tax shelter patents"". In September 2011, President Barack Obama signed legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that effectively prohibits the granting of tax patents in general. The earliest patent that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)"
"conformity with international patent law. The modern-day provisions of the law applied to inventions are laid out in Title 35 of the United States Code (Ch. 950, sec. 1, 66 Stat. 792). From 1836 to 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a total of 7,861,317 patents relating to several well-known inventions appearing throughout the timeline below. Some examples of patented inventions between the years 1946 and 1991 include William Shockley's transistor (1947), John Blankenbaker's personal computer (1971), Vinton Cerf's and Robert Kahn's Internet protocol/TCP (1973), and Martin Cooper's mobile phone (1973). 1946 Space observatory A"
"president, CEO and board member, he has also held executive positions with HandHeld Entertainment, TestDrive Corporation, Silicon Valley Systems and Jasmine Systems. Schulhof co-founded Solar Components, LLC, a Silicon Valley-based firm in the solar power industry. Originally from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, Schulhof currently resides in Southern California. Nathan Schulhof Nathan M. Schulhof (born May 17, 1949 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a technology industry entrepreneur with a career that spans over three decades. Schulhof is listed as the lead inventor on three U.S. patents (5,557,541; 5,572,442 and 5,841,979). However, Schulhof is also listed as co-inventor on another U.S. patent (6,549,942),"
"John C. Lincoln John C. Lincoln (July 17, 1866 - May 24, 1959) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and in 1924, the Vice-Presidential candidate under the Commonwealth Land Party ticket. He held 55 patents on several electrical devices, founded the Lincoln Electric Co., invested in the construction of the Camelback Inn, presided over he Bagdad Mine and funded two hospitals in Phoenix, one which bears his name. Lincoln (birth name: John Cromwell Lincoln) was born in Painesville, Ohio to William Edward Lincoln, (1831 - 1920), an abolitionist minister and Frances Louise Marshall Lincoln (1839 - 1918), a physician. There"