Features

Invention Mysteries TM
Self-syndicated weekly newspaper column

Which U.S. presidents were
the most successful inventors?

By Paul Niemann

[MARCH 13, 2003]  Since my hometown of Quincy is named after a U.S. president -- John Quincy Adams, our sixth president -- I decided focus this column on presidents who toiled as inventors. By the way, there are 12 states that contain a Quincy: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington.

While Thomas Jefferson, our nation's third president, was the most accomplished inventor among all the U.S. presidents, he did not hold a patent on any of his inventions. Only one president ever received a patent, and only one received a trademark. Who were they? Read on; the answers are at the end of the column. 

Among Thomas Jefferson's inventions were such devices as a macaroni machine he invented in 1787, the swivel chair, the spherical sundial, the moldboard plow and the cipher wheel, which was an ingenious way to allow people to code and decode messages. Jefferson's cipher wheel was used until 1802, and then it was "reinvented" just prior to World War I and used by the U.S. Army and other military services to send messages back and forth. Jefferson served as American minister to France in the 1780s and, as a result of his travels throughout Europe, was able to adapt some of the things he saw in Europe to benefit Americans as well.

Jefferson felt that all people should have access to new technology and, since he didn't want others to be deprived of the benefits that new inventions bring, he never applied for a patent on any of his inventions. He considered patents to be an unfair monopoly.

Several of Thomas Jefferson's inventions are still in use today; they deal mainly with agricultural and mechanical products. He also was responsible for introducing french fries into the United States.

One of Jefferson's most notable achievements was the founding of the University of Virginia, and this was one of only three achievements that he had listed on his tombstone.

Jefferson's impact on the U.S. patent system can be seen today in the fact that each new patent application must meet three criteria before being issued a patent: A patent must be new, not obvious and useful. While Jefferson was the most prolific of any presidential inventor, he wasn't the only president to have some success at inventing. 

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In two separate boating incidents, one as a teenager on the Mississippi River and one on the Great Lakes, President Lincoln got his boats stuck in shallow waters, known as shoals. These two experiences inspired Lincoln to invent a solution to help him navigate his boat through shallow waters.

A wooden model of this invention, which Lincoln made himself, is in the Smithsonian Institution. The invention was never sold to the public, though. 

In 1858, Lincoln called the introduction of patent laws one of the three most important developments "in the world's history," along with the discovery of America and the perfection of printing.

During the Civil War, he took a personal interest in the development of new types of weapons: iron ships, the observation balloon, the breech-loading rifle and the machine gun.

President Washington was also a successful inventor, and in 1772 he received a trademark for his brand of flour. 

While Thomas Jefferson invented the most new products of all the presidents, only one U.S. President has ever received a patent, and it wasn't Jefferson. Do you know which president received a patent? 

A. George Washington

B. Abraham Lincoln

C. Teddy Roosevelt

D. Harry Truman

Answer:  President Lincoln was issued Patent 6,469 for "A Device for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals" on May 22, 1849, while still a congressman in Illinois. If you guessed George Washington, you were close; he is the only president to receive a trademark, which he received in 1772 for his flour. 

[Paul Niemann]

Paul Niemann is a contributing author to Inventors' Digest magazine. He also runs MarketLaunchers.com, helping people in the marketing of their new product ideas. In addition, he teaches marketing and advertising at Quincy University. He can be reached at niemann7@aol.com.

Last week's column in LDN: "Here's why you've never heard of the OTHER person who invented the telephone"

Nationally known business leaders
to host seminar in Lincoln

[MARCH 11, 2003]  You can take advantage of staying at home in Lincoln as Jefferson Street Christian Church, using cutting-edge technology, hosts "The Maximum Impact Simulcast" on March 28. The seminar to be presented, "Becoming a Champion of Change," seeks to offer participants answers to the following questions:

• Are you seeking to be a more motivated leader?
• Do you desire to know how to reach your leadership potential?
• Would you like to increase your ability to influence others?
• Do you need to hone your leadership skills and build a winning team?

• Would you like to maximize your impact on your workplace?

Who will answer these questions? Three of the nation's top consultants.

The live simulcast training session will bring well-known business leaders Ken Blanchard, John C. Maxwell and Joe Gibbs here to Lincoln. Ken Blanchard is author of "Raving Fans and Whale Done" and co-author of "The One Minute Manager." John C. Maxwell is best-selling author of "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." Joe Gibbs owns the titles of NFL coach of the three-time world champion Washington Redskins, is a NASCAR team owner and has authored "Racing To Win." These men are proven winners in business, sports and organizational management and will share their experience as instigators of effective change.

Their program is designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of businesses and organizations, with a focus on developing leadership potential. Participants will learn from America's leaders on leadership.

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The program is open to individual or team sign-ups. Primary goals of the one-day seminar will be to motivate participants to:

• Reach leadership potential.
• Increase ability to influence others.
• Become skilled at building a winning team, whether as a team leader or team member.
• Develop individual and team esteem.

• Make a maximum impact in the workplace.

A major benefit to this seminar is that it qualifies for ongoing continuing education credits. Additional course work is also offered following the seminar. Participants will receive more information at the seminar, or you may call to ask about the courses offered.

"Becoming a Champion of Change" will be hosted Friday, March 28, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. by the Jefferson Street Christian Church, 1700 N. Jefferson St. in Lincoln. The cost is $59 per person and includes lunch. If five or more participants come from the same organization, the price drops to $49 per person.

Call Donnie Case at the church, (217) 732-9294, to make your reservation.

[News release]

Techline

Big Mouth II

From J.M. Spencer & Co.

[MARCH 8, 2003]  Well, another year has passed, and we're still at it. All because somebody opened their big mouth at the lunch table a couple of years ago with those spine-tingling words that always cause the table to snap to attention: I've been thinking!!! These three words are tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet and are used to preface such things as, "We should get an elephant. Children would love it." However, on that fateful day it wasn't elephants, it was computers...

"We should just buy another computer and host our own … website, right here at Pond Hill from the Advisory Cabin. At least we wouldn't be paying somebody else to screw up. We could do that ourselves for free (it sure hasn't been). And while we're at it, we should use a Linux operating system with ColdFusion (a beta version, groan) to manage the databases and interface with a big honking mail server (which wasn't hacker-proof to start with, or reliable since), a forum (on the back burner), and one of those shopping gizmos for e-commerce (on the front burner). And secure access to the investment stuff for advisory clients?!"

It was a call to arms, and our knights of the lunch table bought in hook, line and sinker. However, not long after, our computer was named Big Mouth in the perpetrator's honor, and it became obvious that we were headed to the trenches for the duration. As such, Big Mouth has become a regular topic of conversation at the lunch table's daily agriculture and investment forum:

"Cows are lookin' good."

"Yup. Pass the salad."

"Greenhouse is really comin'."

"Yep. Lookin' good."

"Student interns headed to Pond Hill from all over."

"If from Russia to Ecuador counts as all over."

"It does. Pass the bread."

"The model sure nailed the gold bottom."

"Hear, hear. Big bucks trade!!!"

"Looks like interest rates are next."

"Options could be huge to he-mung-gus."

"Right on. Dessert?"

"Thanks. How's the new guy doing?!"

Silence...

Let's backtrack. Over the last two years, the lunch-table gang has learned just enough about computer programming to be dangerous. Several additional computer languages have been added, and there have been a succession of programmers from all over the world who proved they didn't know much about Big Mouth's innards.

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However, we've finally sorted out a good team: First, the lunch-table guys carry water, do grunt work and stay out of the code. Dennis is the captain, Eric (who is building a supercomputer at MIT) is on standby for occasional heavy lifting, and Alex is the main code jockey. He's from Russia but hangs out with Crazy Billy down in South Africa. Yup, the same Billy who sent us the giraffes down in the farm store. Alex is the "new guy" on the team, and he's looking good. Matter of fact, he just maybe a superstar when it comes to multi-code computer platforms.

So, if things stay on course, we're headed for a celebration. Oh yes. A big one, and you will be invited for putting up with Big Mouth's growing pains.

This is probably a good place to apologize for some of the recent misfires: recipes that completely missed almost everybody in the database and then got sent twice or in fragments or blank. Your tolerance and encouragement has been wonderful. One reply said, "I only got half the recipe, but I like your new e-mail color, and it reminded me that I'm almost out of Hot Garlic Pepper Jelly. Please send me a case of jelly and the other half of the recipe." We did, and hopefully party invitations will not be too far behind.

Right, Alex ?!

[From J.M. Spencer & Co.]

Pond Hill Farm is open from sunup to sundown, and around the clock on the Internet. From the farm Advisory Cabin, J.M. Spencer & Co. both manages investment accounts and publishes "Speculative Economics." The farm intern program offers college-level students both practical experience in agriculture and exposure to the workings of the global financial markets.

Pond Hill Farm

5581 South Lake Shore Drive

Harbor Springs, MI  49740

1 (231) 526-FARM

1 (800) 4-UPDATE

www.pondhill.com

• Is this the right time to go into business?
  [Click here for Feb. 28 article by Jim Youngquist.]

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