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March 1821

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Achievement · science
Thomas L. Jennings Receives First Patent Granted to a Black American

New York tailor Thomas L. Jennings received a US patent for a dry-cleaning process he called 'dry scouring,' becoming the first Black American known to receive a US patent. He used the proceeds to purchase the freedom of his enslaved family members and funded abolitionist causes.

Events

  1. March 3, 1821
    Thomas L. Jennings Receives First Patent Granted to a Black American

    New York tailor Thomas L. Jennings received a US patent for a dry-cleaning process he called 'dry scouring,' becoming the first Black American known to receive a US patent. He used the proceeds to purchase the freedom of his enslaved family members and funded abolitionist causes.

  2. March 3, 1821
    Thomas L. Jennings Patents Dry-Scouring Process

    New York tailor Thomas L. Jennings received US Patent 3306x for 'dry scouring' of clothes — a precursor to modern dry cleaning — becoming the first known Black American to hold a US patent. A free man in New York, Jennings used his patent earnings to purchase his family's freedom and fund abolitionist causes, including support for the American Anti-Slavery Society.