George who? Inventor of the "Road Engine"
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| Audience/Grade: | 10-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Design Entrepreneurship and Innovation General Engineering, Engineering Science Industrial Design Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Organization:Brown and Michaels, PC, The Commons, Ithaca, NY |
| Description: | History of George Selden's patent with links to related resources. Excerpt: "This patent represents a forgotten episode in the history of the automobile. The question of who invented the motor car is an open one - Ford, Daimler, Duryea, Cugnot all lay claim to the title of "Father of the Automobile" - but you will seldom hear the name of patent attorney George Selden of Rochester, New York, mentioned. Selden applied for a patent on the "Road Engine" in 1879. Sensing that the time was not right for a horseless carriage, he delayed issuance of the patent until 1895, by which time a young automobile industry was growing in the USA. Although he had no interest in manufacturing his invention, he was very interested in benefiting from it. Under threat of suit, almost all of the manufacturers took out licenses from Selden, or from the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (ALAM), to whom he sold the patent. In fact, on most cars built during the next ten or fifteen years you will find a small brass plaque reading "Manufactured under Selden Patent." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | history of technology automotive design George Selden road engine |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(c) Design a system, component, or process |
| Use of Resource: |
Interesting resource in history of technology with useful references. It ends with a message relevant to current event: "On the other hand, the Selden enforcers faced a challenge not unlike those who try to enforce the music anti-piracy laws. In the first decade of the century, there were just too many people who knew, or thought they knew, or learned after a few tries how to build a car. Blacksmiths, machinists, sewing-machine manufacturers, carriage makers, bicycle makers, farmers, gun makers...the list could go on forever. We really were "a nation of tinkerers," and all but the grouchiest of tinkerers couldn't help being smitten with the machine. And most of them didn't see the foggiest reason to ask for permission." |
| Difficulty: |
Very easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Very low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | October 2007 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.bpmlegal.com/wselden.html |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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