Today in Patent History: Henry Blair

Henry T. Blair received U.S. Patent No. x8447 for a "Seed Planter" on October 14, 1834:
According to Don McClure and others, "Henry Blair was the only inventor to be identified in the Patent Office records as 'a colored man.' For many years Henry Blair was thought to have been the first black American to receive a patent. Later, research revealed Thomas L. Jennings received a patent in 1821 for the invention of the dry cleaning process, " U.S. Patent No. x3306.

The U.S. Patent Office records show that Mr. Blair signed his patents with an "x" because he could not write. However, the scanned copy of the patent available on the Internet does not display the racial epitaph.

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