George B. Selden should not be confused with George Seldes, an American investigative journalist and media critic

George B Selden driving automobile in 1905

George B. Selden (September 14, 1846 in Clarkson, New York – January 17, 1922 in Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City. It is the county) was a patent lawyer A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition. The term is used differently in different countries, and thus may or may not require the same legal and inventor An invention is a new composition, device, or process. An invention may be derived from a pre-existing model or idea, or it could be independently conceived in which case it may be a radical breakthrough. In addition, there is cultural invention, which is an innovative set of useful social behaviors adopted by people and passed on to others who was granted a U.S. patent A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention for an automobile An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the in 1895.[1][2]

The idea of a horseless carriage was in the air during George's youth, but its practicality was uncertain. In 1859, his father, Judge Henry R. Selden Henry Rogers Selden was an American lawyer and politician. He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He defended Susan B. Anthony in her 1873 trial for unlawfully voting as a woman, a prominent Republican attorney most noted for defending Susan B. Anthony Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She traveled the United States, and Europe, and gave 75 to 100 speeches every year on women's rights for 45 years, moved to Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City. It is the county, where George briefly attended the University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in Rochester, New York. The University grants undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional degrees through six schools and various interdisciplinary programs. The University is home to several noted schools and programs, including the number one ranked before dropping out to enlist in the Sixth U.S. Cavalry, Union Army The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army. It consisted of the small United States Army , augmented by massive numbers of units supplied by the Northern states, composed of volunteers as well as conscripts. This was not to the liking of his father who after pulling some strings and having some earnest discussions with his son managed to have him released from duty and enrolled in Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five U.S. presidents, nineteen U.S. Supreme Court. George did not do well at Yale in his law studies, preferring the technical studies offered by the Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffield, the railroad executive. The school was incorporated in 1871. The Sheffield Scientific School helped, but did manage to finish his course of study and pass the New York bar 1871 and joined his father's practice.

He married shortly thereafter to Clara Drake Woodruff, by whom he had 4 children. He continued his hobby of inventing in a workshop in his father's basement, inventing a typewriter and a hoop making machine.

For a time, Selden represented photography pioneer George Eastman George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream. Roll film was also the basis for the invention of motion picture film in 1888 by the world's first filmmaker Louis Le Prince, and a few years later by his followers Léon Bouly, Thomas Edison, the Lumière Brothers and Georges Mà in patent matters.

The Selden Patent

See also Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers , originally the Manufacturer's Mutual Association (MMA), was an organization originally formed to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry by George B. Selden and the Electric Vehicle Company. Ultimately, the organization took advantage of its power and became Selden's

Inspired by the mammoth internal combustion engine The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine the expansion of the high temperature and pressure gases, which are produced by the combustion, directly applies force to a movable component of the engine, such as the invented by George Brayton George Brayton was born in Rhode Island, son of William H. and Minerva (Bailey) Brayton. He was an American mechanical engineer who lived with his family in Boston, and who is noted for introducing the continuous combustion process that is the basis for the gas turbine, and which is now referred to as the Brayton cycle displayed at the Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine in Philadelphia in 1876, Selden began working on a smaller lighter version, succeeding by 1878, some eight years before the public introduction of the Benz Patent Motorwagen The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen , built in 1885, is widely regarded as the first automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be propelled by a motor in Europe, in producing a one-cylinder, 400-pound version which featured an enclosed crankshaft The crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation. To convert the reciprocating motion into rotation, the crankshaft has "crank throws" or "crankpins", additional bearing surfaces whose axis is offset from that of the crank, to with the help of Rochester machinist, Frank H. Clement and his assistant William Gomm Field Marshal Sir William Maynard Gomm GCB , British soldier, was gazetted to the 9th Foot at the age of ten in recognition of the services of his father, Lieutenant-Colonel William Gomm, who was killed in the attack on Guadaloupe (1794). He joined his regiment as a lieutenant in 1799, and fought in the Netherlands under the Duke of York, and. He filed for a patent on May 8, 1879. His application included not only the engine but its use in a 4 wheeled car. He then filed a series of amendments to his application which stretched out the legal process resulting in a delay of 16 years before the patent US patent 549160 pdf was granted on November 5, 1895.

The Selden Road-Engine

Shortly thereafter the fledgling American auto industry The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2007, more than 73 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide began its first efforts and George Selden, despite never having gone into production with a working model of an automobile, had a credible claim to have patented an automobile in 1895.[1][2] In 1899 he sold his patent rights to William C. Whitney, who proposed manufacturing electric-powered taxicabs as the Electric Vehicle Company The Electric Vehicle Company was founded as a holding company of battery-powered electric automobile manufacturers made up of several car companies assembled by Isaac L. Rice beginning in 1897. It was taken over in 1899 by William C. Whitney and P. A. B. Widener's, thus forming the so-called "Lead Cab Trust," which hoped to develop a, EVC, for a royalty of $15 per car with a minimum annual payment of $5,000. Whitney and Selden then worked together to collect royalties from other budding automobile manufacturers. He was initially successful, negotiating a 0.75% royalty on all cars sold by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers , originally the Manufacturer's Mutual Association (MMA), was an organization originally formed to challenge the litigation of the fledgling automobile industry by George B. Selden and the Electric Vehicle Company. Ultimately, the organization took advantage of its power and became Selden's, the ALAM. He began his own car company in Rochester under the name, Selden Motor Vehicle Company.

However, Henry Ford Henry Ford an American industrialist, philanthropist, pacifist and antisemite, was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and widely considered a father of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one, owner of the Ford Motor Company The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars in Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford', founded in Detroit, Michigan Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the Frenchman Antoine de la in 1903, and four other car makers resolved to contest the patent infringement The scope of the patented invention or the extent of protection is defined in the claims of the granted patent. In other words, the terms of the claims inform the public of what is not allowed without the permission of the patent holder suit filed by Selden and EVC. The legal fight lasted eight years, generating a case record of 14,000 pages. The case was heavily publicized in the newspapers of the day, and ended in a victory for Selden. In his decision, the judge wrote that the patent covered any automobile propelled by an engine powered by gasoline vapor. Posting a bond of $350,000, Ford appealed, and on January 10, 1911 won his case based on an argument that the engine used in automobiles was not based on George Brayton's engine, the Brayton engine The Brayton cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that describes the workings of the gas turbine engine, basis of the jet engine and others. It is named after George Brayton , the American engineer who developed it, although it was originally proposed and patented by Englishman John Barber in 1791. It is also sometimes known as the Joule cycle. The which Selden had improved, but on the Otto engine The Otto engine was a large stationary single-cylinder internal combustion four-stroke engine designed by Nicolaus Otto. It was a low-RPM machine, and only fired occasionally since it was a hit-and-miss engine.

This stunning defeat, with only 1 year left to run on the patent, destroyed Selden's income stream. He focused production of his car company on trucks, renaming his company the Selden Truck Sales Corporation. It survived in that form until 1930 when it was purchased by the Bethlehem Truck Company. Selden suffered a stroke in late 1921 and died at 75 on January 17, 1922. He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester. It is estimated he received several hundred thousand dollars in royalties.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Flink, p. 51 Probably the most absurd action in the history of patent law was the granting of United States patent number 549,160 on November 5, 1895, to George B. Selden. a Rockester, New York, patent lawyer and inventor, for an "improved road engine" powered by "a liquid-hydrocarbon engine of the compression type."
  2. ^ a b Flink, p. 51 His own patent application was filed in 1879. He then used evasive legal tactics to delay the patent's acceptance until conditions seemed favorable for commercial exploitation.

References

Categories: 1846 births | 1922 deaths | Automotive pioneers Categories: Pioneers by field | Businesspeople by industry | People in the automobile industry | American inventors Categories: Inventors by nationality | American people by occupation | Science and technology in the United States | People in the automobile industry | Yale University alumni Alumni of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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