Historedia
AmericasEvent

Issuance of the First U.S. Patent

When
1790
Where
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Episodes
1

Samuel Hopkins, an American inventor from Philadelphia, received the first U.S. patent on July 31, 1790, under the new statute signed by President Washington in April 1790. His patent covered an improved method for making potash and pearlash. This event marks the initial issuance of a U.S. patent, distinct from later developments in patent law.

Episodes

  1. July 31, 1790 · Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFirst U.S. Patent Issued to Samuel Hopkins

    Samuel Hopkins received the first U.S. patent on July 31, 1790, in Philadelphia, for an improved method of making potash and pearlash.

Background and detail

Background. Samuel Hopkins was an American inventor based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The U.S. patent system was established by a new statute signed into law by President Washington on April 10, 1790. Hopkins petitioned for a patent on an improvement in the making of Potash and Pearlash by a new Apparatus and Process, which became the subject of the first U.S. patent.

Issuance. On July 31, 1790, Samuel Hopkins was granted the first U.S. patent. This grant occurred under the new U.S. patent statute that had been signed into law earlier in the year. The patent covered his specific improvement in the making of Potash and Pearlash by a new Apparatus and Process.

Legacy. The legacy row identifies Samuel Hopkins as the first to be issued a U.S. patent for an improved method of making potash. This aligns with the source data confirming the grant on July 31, 1790, in Philadelphia. The legacy row's date and location are supported by the retrieved passages.

People involved

  • Samuel Hopkins · Inventor
  • George Washington · Signatory of the U.S. patent statute into law on April 10, 1790; not a participant in the patent issuance itself

Sources

  1. Samuel Hopkins (inventor) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-28

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.