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"The patent system . .
. secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use
of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the
fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful
things." Abraham Lincoln, Second Lecture on Discoveries
and Inventions, Jacksonville, Illinois, February 11, 1859.
Drawings for Abraham Lincoln's Patent
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On May 22, 1849, Abraham Lincoln was granted
Patent No. 6469 by the U.S. Patent Office (PTO) on a device for "Buoying
Vessels Over Shoals." As noted by PTO, Lincoln's "invention consists of a set of bellows attached to the hull of a ship just below the water line. On reaching a shallow place, the bellows are filled with air and the vessel, thus buoyed, is expected to float clear."
Although the device was never actually manufactured,
Abraham Lincoln remains today as the only United States President
to hold a patent. A scale model of the invention is on display at
the Smithsonian
Institution National Museum of American History.
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http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/images.htm
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