Invention and Science-Based Industry

The Patent System: Number of Patents granted annually by the U.S. Patent Office ( U.S. Patent Activity, 1790-1997 )
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
477 4,412 13,712 28,139 40,819
48,385 54,867
87,206
236,364


The boom in invention:  Example: Charles Goodyear and the Invention of Vulcanized Rubber  ( source )

 Charles Goodyear experimenting
(source was a Discovery Online article that is no longer available )


Competition by innovation: make your company successful by continuous development and patenting of new products

Example: Eastman Kodak  ( History of Kodak )


 Kodak #1 (from a Kodak page no longer available)






Applied science (see  19th Century Engineering Education )


Quote of the day: "Don't worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you'll have to ram them down people's throats. " 
- Howard Aiken, IBM engineer



this page written and copyright  Pamela E. Mack
last updated 10/7/05