Connecticut Patents 1800-1890 This list was compiled by Museum of Connecticut History staff in the 1990s, and lists all patents by Connecticut inventors between the years of 1800-1890. This period spans a time of incredible industrial growth and inventiveness in Connecticut, and the Yankee ingenuity on display in these patents helped make the state one of the premier industrial centers of the nation and the world. Many of the pre-1836 patents listed here are only known because of annual lists of patents or patent digests that were published by the Patent Office. The actual records were destroyed in a fire in 1836, and many were never reconstructed. All of the pre-1836 patents are known as the “X-Patents,” and those that have been recovered were given patent numbers beginning with the letter X. Patents up to this time had not actually had numbers of any kind, they were simply known by date and title. About five months before the fire, the Patent Office began numbering their patents; this system, now up to seven digits, is still in use today. Patents found in this dataset can be found using the Patent Public Search tool on the U.S. Patent Office’s website. The easiest way to locate a patent is to enter the seven-digit serial number into the basic search. The Connecticut Patents 1800-1890 dataset contains names of inventors, assignees if relevant (inventors could “assign” ownership of patents to another person or entity), descriptions of the invention, patent numbers (if available), and date of issue. It also contains a two-digit class code that corresponds to a general subject area. The subjects are: 01 Firearms, guns, cannons, etc. 02 Metallurgy, metalworking, etc. 03 Woodworking, sawmills, etc. 04 Weaving, sewing, looms, etc. 05 Steam boilers, engines 06 Railroads 07 Ships, boats, canals 08 Clothing 09 Agriculture 10 Hardware, tools, etc. 11 Tanning 12 Rubber 13 Musical instruments 14 Medical 15 Foods and cooking 16 Business and labor 17 Clocks 18 Fireplaces, stoves, furnaces, etc. 19 Lanterns, lamps, and lighting 20 Furniture 21 Household items 22 Doors, windows, drawers, trunks, etc. 23 Grinding mills 24 Stonemasonry, mining, etc. 25 Vehicles, non-motorized 26 Chemical processes? Explosives, distilling, paintmaking, etc. 27 Plumbing, pipes, hoses, etc. and water-powered devices 28 Printing, bookmaking, and paper 29 Engines, coolers, elevators, pneumatics, etc. 30 Ivory 31 Military equipment (non-weapons) 32 Sewing machines 33 Toys, games, and leisure (includes bicycles) 34 Equipment for horses 35 Photography 36 Glassware 37 [doesn't exist] 38 Electricity and electronics 39 Telephones 40 Fire safety 41 Construction 42 School equipment 43 Art
Organization: State of Connecticut
Last updated: 2025-03-29T15:38:10.810514
Tags: connecticut-state-library, csl, ct-state-library, patents