The First U.S. Patent
July 31, 1790
Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was first created in 1790, the office has issued more than 10 million patents with a goal of promoting 'the progress of science and useful arts.' President George Washington was a major advocate of the patent system, though Thomas Jefferson, who oversaw the new office as Washington's secretary of state, was skeptical of any system that potentially gave inventors a monopoly over products. Nevertheless Jefferson, a noted science-lover and inventor in his own right, greatly influenced early American innovation. He joined forces with Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph to run the Patent Commission, the group that determined which patents were issued.
The very first American patent went to inventor Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a new process to create potash, which was a key ingredient in things like gunpowder, glass, and soap. Hopkins' patent was the first of three issued that year, each with a 14-year term, which was the maximum allowable by law. Hopkins also patented the process to create pearl ash, which we know today as potassium carbonate. Both potash and pearl ash were used for cooking and baking before the invention of baking soda and baking powder. The other two patents issued in 1790 were for machinery to mill flour and a process to make candles.
July 31, 1790
Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was first created in 1790, the office has issued more than 10 million patents with a goal of promoting 'the progress of science and useful arts.' President George Washington was a major advocate of the patent system, though Thomas Jefferson, who oversaw the new office as Washington's secretary of state, was skeptical of any system that potentially gave inventors a monopoly over products. Nevertheless Jefferson, a noted science-lover and inventor in his own right, greatly influenced early American innovation. He joined forces with Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph to run the Patent Commission, the group that determined which patents were issued.
The very first American patent went to inventor Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a new process to create potash, which was a key ingredient in things like gunpowder, glass, and soap. Hopkins' patent was the first of three issued that year, each with a 14-year term, which was the maximum allowable by law. Hopkins also patented the process to create pearl ash, which we know today as potassium carbonate. Both potash and pearl ash were used for cooking and baking before the invention of baking soda and baking powder. The other two patents issued in 1790 were for machinery to mill flour and a process to make candles.
The First U.S. Patent
July 31, 1790
Since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was first created in 1790, the office has issued more than 10 million patents with a goal of promoting 'the progress of science and useful arts.' President George Washington was a major advocate of the patent system, though Thomas Jefferson, who oversaw the new office as Washington's secretary of state, was skeptical of any system that potentially gave inventors a monopoly over products. Nevertheless Jefferson, a noted science-lover and inventor in his own right, greatly influenced early American innovation. He joined forces with Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph to run the Patent Commission, the group that determined which patents were issued.
The very first American patent went to inventor Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a new process to create potash, which was a key ingredient in things like gunpowder, glass, and soap. Hopkins' patent was the first of three issued that year, each with a 14-year term, which was the maximum allowable by law. Hopkins also patented the process to create pearl ash, which we know today as potassium carbonate. Both potash and pearl ash were used for cooking and baking before the invention of baking soda and baking powder. The other two patents issued in 1790 were for machinery to mill flour and a process to make candles.
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