George Baldwin Selden (September 14, 1846 in Clarkson, New York - January 17, 1922 in Rochester, New York) is a patent lawyer and inventor who awarded US patents for cars in 1895.
Video George B. Selden
Early life and career
In 1859, his father Judge Henry R. Selden, a prominent Republican lawyer famous for defending Susan B. Anthony, moved to Rochester, New York, where George briefly attended the University of Rochester before leaving to enroll in the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Union Army. This was not in line with his father's wishes, which after pulling a few strings and discussing with his son who had made him exempt from duty and enrolled at Yale. George did not work well at Yale in his legal studies, preferring the technical studies offered by Sheffield Scientific School, but successfully completed his studies and graduated from the New York bar in 1871 and joined his father's practice.
She married shortly afterwards with Clara Drake Woodruff, with whom she had 4 children. He continued his hobby of creating a garage in his father's basement, creating a typewriter and a hoop maker.
For a time, Selden represents George Eastman's photography pioneer in patent issues.
Maps George B. Selden
Selden Patent
Inspired by the mamut internal combustion engine invented by George Brayton displayed at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, Selden began working on a lighter version, succeeding in 1878, some eight years before the public introduction of Benz Patent Motorwagen in Europe, in producing a version one -sylinder, 400-pound featuring closed crankshaft with the help of Rochester engineer Frank H. Clement and his assistant, William Gomm. He filed a patent on May 8, 1879 (in a historical cross of people, Selden's chosen witness was a local bank-teller, George Eastman, later becoming famous for Kodak cameras). Its application includes not only the engine but its use in a 4-wheeled car. He then proposed a series of amendments to its application that spanned legal proceedings resulting in a 16-year delay before the patent was granted on November 5, 1895.
Shortly thereafter, the new American automobile industry began its first venture and George Selden, though never going into production with a car working model, had a credible claim to patenting a car in 1895. In 1899 he sold his patent to William. C. Whitney, who proposed the creation of electric-powered electric taxis as an Electric Vehicle Company, EVC, for royalties of US $ 15 per car with a minimum annual payment of US $ 5,000. Whitney and Selden then work together to collect royalties from other novice car manufacturers. He was initially successful, negotiating a 0.75% royalty on all cars sold by the Licensed Automobile Manufacturers Association. He started his own car company in Rochester under the name Selden Motor Vehicle Company.
However, Henry Ford, owner of Ford Motor Company, founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1903, and four other automakers decided to file a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Selden and EVC. The legal battle lasted eight years, yielding a 14,000-page case record. Ford's testimony included the comment, "It's perfectly safe to say that George Selden never advanced the car industry in one... and probably will be ahead of now if he's never been born." The case was publicized heavily in the newspaper that day, and ended in triumph for Selden. In his decision, the judge wrote that the patent covers every car driven by a gasoline-powered engine. Posting the $ 350,000 bond, Ford filed an appeal, and on January 10, 1911 won the case based on the argument that the machine used in the car was not based on George Brayton's engine, Selden's Brayton engine but on an Otto machine.
This stunning defeat, with only a year left to run on patents, destroys Selden's revenue stream. He focused his car company's production on a truck, renaming the company to Selden Truck Sales Corporation. It survived in that form until 1930 when it was purchased by Bethlehem Motor Truck Corporation. Selden suffered a stroke in late 1921 and died at the age of 75 on January 17, 1922. He was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is estimated that he received several hundred thousand dollars in royalty.
See also
- Wright's patent wars, another motor vehicle technology patent from the same time period
- George Brayton, inventor of the Brayton cycle machine
Footnote
References
- Based on pages 184-199 of The Mayflower Murderer & amp; Other Forgotten Moments in American History, Peter F. Stevens, William Morrow, hardcover, 272 pages, ISBN 0-688-11818-6. Is published simultaneously on Wikinfo.
- Flink, James J., The Automobile Age , MIT Press (1990), ISBNÃ, 0-262-56055-0
External links
- George B. Selden in the Search of the Mausoleum
- Selden Motor Wagon Photo of the vehicle, plus an article about patent pregnancy and a long lawsuit that followed.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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