Fascinating facts about the invention of a Pot Ash Process by Samuel Hopkins in 1790.

TO LEARN MORE

RELATED INFORMATION:
Creation of the U.S. Patent System   from The Great Idea Finder
Historical Patents   from The Great Idea Finder

ON THE BOOKSHELF:
The Patent Guide: A Friendly Guide to Protecting and Profiting from Patents
by Carl W. Battle / Paperback - 192 pages (November 1997) / Watson-Guptill Pubns
Geared toward the businessperson and individual inventor, this overview takes the reader from inception to patent drafting, follows an application through the Patent Office, shows how to select legal representation if needed, and concludes with information on infringement procedures, foreign protection options, and licensing and marketing an invention.
Patent Searching Made Easy: How to Do Patent Searching on the Internet and in the Library
by David Hitchcock / Paperback - 208 pages 2nd edition (April 2000) / Nolo Press
This book should be a valuable aid to most inventors and an excellent starting point for first-time inventors

ON THE WEB:
FIRST U.S. PATENT ISSUED IN 1790
On July 31, 1790 Samuel Hopkins was issued the first patent for a process of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer. The patent was signed by President George Washington. Hopkins was born in Vermont, but was living in Philadelphia, PA when the patent was granted.The first patent, as well as the more than 6 million patents issued since then, can be seen on the Department of Commerce's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website at www.uspto.gov. The original document is in the collections of the Chicago Historical Society.
(URL: www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/01-33.htm)
Ask Yahoo! Who holds U.S. patent number 1?
Patent 1, the first patent issued under the new numbering system, went to Senator John Ruggles of Thomaston, Maine. His invention, patented July 13, 1836, was a cog mechanism for locomotive wheels.
(URL: ask.yahoo.com/ask/20020408.html)
Gutenberg Project
From the book THE AGE OF INVENTION, A CHRONICLE OF MECHANICAL CONQUEST BY HOLLAND THOMPSON. In 1790, came a great boon and encouragement to inventors, the first Federal Patent Act, passed by Congress on the 10th of April.
(URL: www.gutenberg.net/etext01/nvent10.txt)
Samuel Hopkins: Holder of the First U.S. Patent
In a nation that cherishes its "firsts," we have been strangely neglectful of the holder of the first patent issued in the United States.  His name and the discovery that resulted in  the patent grant are all but unknown. 
(URL: www.carnegielibrary.org/locations/scitech/ptdl/pgh/samhopkins.html)
The First Patent
Less than a year after the potash patent was granted, the Quebec Parlement passed an ordinance to "reward" him for his discovery. Legal experts now consider this Canada's first patent.
(URL: www.me.utexas.edu/~lotario/paynter/hmp/The_First_Patent.html)
Chicago Historical Society
Handwritten patent certificate (letters patent), signed by George Washington, President, U.S., at the City of New York. Granted to Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia (Pa.), for an apparatus and process for leaching wood ashes to make potash and pearl ash [potassium carbonate]. Signed also by Edmund Randolph, attorney general. Seal is attached. Endorsed on verso by Thomas Jefferson, as delivered Aug. 4, 1790. This is believed to be the first patent granted by the United States Government.
(URL: www.chicagohs.org/)

DID YOU KNOW?:

• Patent No. 1 on July 31, 1790, for an improvement "in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process." The patent was signed by President George Washington, Attorney General Edmund Randolph, and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.