In honor of Black History Month, Invent-Tech honors the first African-American man and woman to receive a U.S. patent

February 20th, 2007

The first patent ever issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office was granted to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a process of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer. To date, the USPTO has granted over 7 million patents. Although statistics citing a specific number are not available, many of those patents were granted to African-American inventors.

African-Americans are responsible for inventions that touch our lives on a daily basis, such as the ironing board, invented by Sarah Boone; the light signal, invented by Garrett Morgan; peanut butter, invented by George W. Carver; and the hair brush, invented by Lyda Newman, among many others. In honor of Black History Month, Invent-Tech presents an entry in its Invention History series to introduce the first African-American man and woman to be granted a U.S. patent.

Although he was not the first African-American in history to invent, Thomas Jennings was the first African-American to receive a U.S. patent, which was granted for his “Dry Scouring” dry cleaning process on March 3, 1821. Born in 1791, Jennings was a free American-citizen and a tailor by trade. He owned a dry cleaning business and clothing store in New York City, and invented the process in response to his customers’ complaints that their clothing was dirty but conventional cleaning methods ruined the fabric. He used much of the money earned from his patent and business to free his family from slavery and support the abolitionist movement.

When Jennings’ patent was granted, both slaves and freedmen could patent inventions. This law changed in 1858, when a slave owner patented his slave, Ned’s invention of a double cotton scraper, leading the courts to rule that, since slaves were not citizens, they could not be granted patents; not being the true inventor, according to the patent law, the slave owner could not patent the invention either. In 1861, during the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America passed a law that granted slaves the right to patent inventions; and the federal government updated their laws in 1870, granting patent rights to all American citizens and qualifying residents.

Just at it did not discriminate between the patent rights of whites and blacks, and freedmen and slaves, the original United States Patent Act of 1790 did not discriminate against women inventors; although nearly 20 years passed until the first woman, Mary Kies, was granted a U.S. patent on a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. The explanation for this is likely due to the social norms and mores of the times, which did not allow equal opportunities in education, occupation, property ownership and voting rights to women. The Women’s Rights Movement that started in 1848, as well as egalitarian laws that followed the Civil War, encouraged more women to patent their inventions. It was not until 1885, however, that the first African-American woman patented an invention.

Sarah E. Goode’s patent was granted for the “Cabinet Bed,” a precursor to the modern hideaway bed, which could be used as a desk as well as a bed. Goode was born into slavery in 1850. Gaining her freedom after the Civil War, she moved to Chicago and opened a furniture store. She recognized that cramped city apartments barely had enough room for a bed and, therefore, consumers could benefit from dual-purpose furnishings.

With their innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, Jennings, Goode and many other African-American inventors overcame early societal obstacles to join the ranks of U.S. patented inventors. Their stories of success can be an inspiration to any inventor who finds the path to invention to be difficult.

Facts gathered from About.com, blackinventor.com and csupomona.edu.

Entry Filed under: Invent-Tech News