First English patent to an AmericanIn 1715, the first British patent be granted to an American was G.B. No. 401 (1715) to "Thomas Masters, Planter of Pennsylvania, for an invention foundout by Sibylla his wife for cleaning and curing the indian Corn growing in several colonies in America.* The first patent issued within the colonies was for a new method of extracting salt, granted to Samuel Winslow by Massachusetts in 1641. It was not until 31 Jul 1790 that a patent was issued by the federal government. Samuel Hopkins was granted a patent for his process of making potash and pearl ashes. This was a document signed by President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Edmund Randolph as the Patent Office was not formed until 1801.« |
