On July 31, 1790, Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont received the first U.S. patent for an improvement in “the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process.” Pot Ash is a potassium carbonate used in the making soap and manufacturing of glass
Today this patent is known as 1X. The original document, which was found in 1955, is in the collections of the Chicago Historical Society. This was one of only three patents issued in 1790.
At the time, there was no patent office. The decision to grant a pardon was made by the Commissioners for the Promotion of the Useful Arts. The Commissioners for the Promotion of the Useful Arts was comprised of the Secretary of State (Thomas Jefferson), the Secretary of War (Henry Knox), and the Attorney General (Edmund Randolph). The first patent was signed by President George Washington, Attorney General Edmund Randolph and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson in New York City. The fees for a patent were between four and five dollars. The application consisted of a written description, drawings and a model if it was possible.