The very first U.S. patent went to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a way of making potash, a fertilizer ingredient. President George Washington signed it.

The first U.S. patent was granted to Samuel Hopkins on July 31, 1790, for a process of making potash. George Washington signed it.

The Constitution gave Congress the power to secure for inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries. Congress passed the first patent statute on April 10, 1790, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says, and a Patent Board of Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox and Edmund Randolph began examining patents.

On July 31, 1790, the first U.S. patent went to Samuel Hopkins for a process of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer. President George Washington signed it.