\x34Historically Yours\x34 by Liz Davis is a blog about American historical trivia--anything American since 1492.
July 31, 1790
US Patent #1 is issued
The first patent issued in the US was received by Samuel Hopkins of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 31, 1790, for an improvement "in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process." His was one of only three issued that first year.
http://www.me.utexas.edu/~longoria/paynter/hmp/The_First_Patent.html
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/h_counts.htm
