July 31, 1790
The Ashes That Built a Patent System
The granting of the first United States patent to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790
A Quaker chemist's method for turning wood ash into gold-grade potash earned the very first patent of the new United States. Behind the single page signed by George Washington lies a story of forests, gunpowder, and a mistaken identity that fooled historians for two centuries.
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