Question from Martha P.:

Hello Invention Geek,

Who patented the first corkscrew?

Martha P.

Hi Martha,

The first patent for a corkscrew was granted in England to Rev. Samuel Henshell. He received British Patent Number 2061 on August 24, 1795.

Henshell’s design was simply an improvement of the various corkscrews being used at the time. The original corkscrew was based on the “gun worm” which was used to clean the barrel of a gun. To this design, Henshell added a button that prevented the worm from going too far into the cork. It also included extra gripping power that broke the bond between the cork and the bottle.

Henshell’s corkscrew can be identified by the words on the top of the button. The button is printed with “OBSTANDO PROMOVES, SOHO PATENT” which means “by standing firm one makes advancement.”

– TG

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