Thursday, May 05, 2016

First woman to receive US Patent: May 5, 1809

Of "cinco de mayo" and patents, on May 5,1809, Mary Kies became the first woman to receive a U.S. patent, for a weaving technique.

The Kies story ended sadly, as with the case of Goodyear; Smithsonian notes


But if you want to see Kies’ patent in person, you’re out of luck: It was destroyed in a huge fire that swept through the Patent Office in 1836, decimating approximately 10,000 patents and thousands of documents, drawings and pending patents. Kies’ story ends sadly, too; fashions changed and she died penniless, buried in a pauper’s grave in Brooklyn, New York.


link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-mary-kies-americas-first-woman-become-patent-holder-180959008/#uoWGiy0qyU3Z1TwY.99

**The "cinco de mayo" holiday celebrates the victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The French would later prevail and install Maximilian, who lasted until Queretaro in 1867.

There is a connection to the American Civil War. On May 17, 1865, about three years after "cinco de mayo", General Grant ordered General Sheridan, with 50,000 men, to Texas, manifestly to deal with Kirby-Smith but sub rosa to deal with the French and Maximilian. This unit was known as the Military Division of the Southwest. Additionally, Sheridan was to keep Confederates from crossing the border, from the U.S. into Mexico!

From wikipedia:


The Military Division of the Southwest (after June 27 the Division of the Gulf), commanded by Maj. Gen. Phillip H. Sheridan, occupied Texas between June and August. Consisting of the IV Corps, XIII Corps, the African-American XXV Corps, and two 4,000-man cavalry divisions commanded by Brig-Gen. Wesley Merritt and Maj-Gen. George A. Custer, it aggregated a 50,000-man force on the Gulf Coast and along the Rio Grande to pressure the French intervention in Mexico and garrison the Reconstruction Department of Texas.



link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch

**In passing, IPBiz on blawgsearch on the day, and the week, of 5 May 2016:

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