No. 1,500,000

Until A. D. 1836, patents were issued in the U. S. by the President in person. He signed them, the Secretary of State signed them, the Attorney General signed them. Then they were valid patents. Between 1790 and 1836, these three officers issued 9,967 patents.

In 1836, the business of issuing patents became a bit too onerous a sideline for statesmen. The Patent Office* was created and began to number the patents it issued. Between 1836 and 1893 --57 years--500,000 patents were counted out; between 1893 and 1911--18 years--another 500,000 patents were granted. Last week--13 years since the 1,000,000th patent was granted--the 1,500,000th was issued.

The man who got the 1,500,000th patent was Simon Lake, inventor and pioneer in submarine experiment. His original submarine, the Argonaut, is still in the yard of the Lake Torpedo Boat Co., of Bridgeport. His latest, No. 1,500,000, is described under SCIENCE.

Telling of its 1,500,000th, the Patent Office pointed with pride to its record:

"United States patents have been granted to American inventors for the telegraph, the telephone, the sewing machine, the vulcanization of rubber, the moving picture, the phonograph, the incandescent light, the typewriter, the automobile, the sleeping car, the electric car, the linotype machine, the vacuum cleaner, the aeroplane and the leading features that make modern radio possible.

"Copies of all these patents are on file in the Patent Office and form the permanent record for search purposes for use of the examining corps to determine novelty of applications for patents. Copies are also kept in stock for the purpose of sale so that they may be available to the public, practically at cost. Such copies number about 50,000,000 and occupy about 20 linear miles of single shelving in the Patent Office, over 200,000 copies of such patents being sold each month for 10-c- each."

*The U. S. Patent Office is a subdivision of the Department of the Interior.