Patents | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/patents/RSS feed for PatentsenThu, 25 Jun 2026 15:05:04 +0000Everyone Wanted Alexander Graham Bell to Debut the Telephone at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. He Almost Avoided It Entirelyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/everyone-wanted-alexander-graham-bell-to-debut-the-telephone-at-the-philadelphia-centennial-exhibition-he-almost-walked-away-first-180989016/The inventor had to be persuaded to make the trip from Boston, then balked at the thought of a delay in debuting his device. But history interceded, and his American innovation got its proper accoladesThu, 25 Jun 2026 15:05:04 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/everyone-wanted-alexander-graham-bell-to-debut-the-telephone-at-the-philadelphia-centennial-exhibition-he-almost-walked-away-first-180989016/This Building Hosted Lincoln's Inaugural Ball and Displayed the Declaration of Independence. Today, It's Home to Two World-Class Art Museumshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-building-hosted-lincolns-inaugural-ball-and-displayed-the-declaration-of-independence-today-its-home-to-two-world-class-art-museums-180988990/The Old Patent Office Building now houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. A new exhibition spotlights the structure's rich history of encouraging innovationThu, 25 Jun 2026 14:00:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/this-building-hosted-lincolns-inaugural-ball-and-displayed-the-declaration-of-independence-today-its-home-to-two-world-class-art-museums-180988990/These Ten Remarkable Objects From the Smithsonian Collections Make the Case for America’s Status as the Innovation Nationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-ten-remarkable-objects-from-the-smithsonian-collections-make-the-case-for-americas-status-as-the-innovation-nation-180988874/An encouragement for invention was written right into the Constitution, and whatever the task at hand, someone is always up for the challengeTue, 09 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-ten-remarkable-objects-from-the-smithsonian-collections-make-the-case-for-americas-status-as-the-innovation-nation-180988874/When Patent Protections Couldn’t Keep Pace With Ingenuity in the Colonies, One Inventive Woman Took Her Case to Britainhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/patent-protections-couldnt-keep-pace-with-ingenuity-colonies-one-inventive-woman-took-case-britain-180988827/Sybilla Righton Masters devised a novel way to work with grains available to her in Philadelphia. A long journey led to the first patent issued to an American (though it went to her husband)Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/patent-protections-couldnt-keep-pace-with-ingenuity-colonies-one-inventive-woman-took-case-britain-180988827/