...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 |
| 6296912 | Roofing material with fibrous mat A roofing membrane material is disclosed. The material is characterized in that it includes a woven or non-woven fibrous mat having an adhesive asphalt coating, such as a two-layer asphaltic coating applied to one surface thereof. The asphaltic coating ca... | 10/02/2001 |