Happy National Inventors Day! February 11 is a day to celebrate America’s resourcefulness and imagination. Celebrated on Thomas Edison’s birthday, this day was set by Ronald Reagan in 1983 to laud all innovators old and new.
While you can go to the National Inventors Hall of Fame or the United States Patent and Trademark sites to see multiple inventions from around the country, the Wyoming State Library has a database that celebrates inventions closer to home.
The Wyoming Inventors database highlights Wyoming patents from 1867 to the newest patents approved every Tuesday. Dive into the database to explore the wide selection of inventions created by Wyomingites or come along through this selection of inventions to celebrate National Inventors Day.
The first invention ever patented in Wyoming was U.S. Patent No. 67898 – Improvement in Cartridge-Belts. This innovation was created by Anson Mills, and patented in 1867 while he was serving at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory (current day Uinta County).
After that first Wyoming patent, Wyomingites received over 6,000 individual patents. These inventions span the whole range of ideas from Animal Tags (U.S. Patent No. 3260007)
to Zipper Pulling Aides (U.S. Patent No. D40067).
Sometimes, these ideas work to solve classic problems, like this spin on creating a better mousetrap (U.S. Patent No. 5720125). The following mousetrap aims to make live capture easier and more hygienic.
Wyoming ingenuity carries on to the present day. For instance this invention for sustainable packaging system and packaging sealing device (U.S. Patent No. 11235917) just received its patent this month.
Check out the Wyoming Inventors database for more outstanding examples of the inventor’s spirit.