...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 6552681 | Method for determining vertical and horizontal GPS position using altitude information A method of using altitude information to arrive at a more accurate GPS position. A 3D GPS position is used as an initial estimate. The latitude and longitude of the initial estimate are used to retrieve an altitude from a database. This altitude is used ... | 04/22/2003 |
| 6531981 | Global augmentation to global positioning system A system and method is disclosed for corresponding data associated with primary correction of at least one first measurement of a GPS satellite characteristic to a second measurement of the GPS satellite characteristic taken at a mobile receiver. In a pre... | 03/11/2003 |