On February 12, 1935, U.S. Patent No. 1,991,236, issued to Robert Jemison Van de Graaff on an Electrostatic Generator:

Van de Graaff’s generator could generate direct-current voltages much higher than the 700,000-V which was the state of the art at the time using other methods, on the order of 1,500,000-V. between them.

Van de Graaff’s generator was originally developed as a particle accelerator for physics research, because its high potential can be used to accelerate subatomic particles to great speeds. It was the most powerful type of accelerator until the cyclotron was developed. Van de Graaff generators are still used as accelerators to generate energetic particle and X-ray beams for nuclear research and nuclear medicine, and really cool exhibits in science museums.

On February 11, 1969, Albert Dale Herman and Herbert Zeppo Marx received U.S. Patent No. 3,426,747 on a Method and Watch Mechanism for Actuation by a Cardiac Pulse:

The invention provides two watch-type mechanisms for measuring and comparing pulse rate to a standard. The coinventor Herbert Zeppo Marx was the youngest of the Marx Brothers. Zeppo replaced his eldest brother Gummo in the Marx Brothers’ stage act when Gummo was drafted into the army World War I, and he appeared in at least five of their films — mostly as the straight man.

Zeppo was mechanically inclined, and it fell to him to keep the Marx family car running. He owned Marman Products Co., which during World War II machined parts for the war effort. Marman made the clamps used to hold the atomic bombs inside the B-29 bombers Enola Gay and Bockscar. In addition to the ‘747 patent, Zeppo also patented (U.S. Patent No. 2,590,026) a therapeutic pad for delivering moist heat to a patient.

On February 9, 1811, U.S. Patent No. 1,434X issued to Robert Fulton on Constructing Boats or Vessels Which are to be Navigated by the Power of Steam Engines. Sadly, the copy of this patent was destroyed in the Patent Office file of 1836.

11,434X was an improvement over U.S. Patent No. 995X which issued nearly two years earlier on February 11, 1809, which also was destroyed in the Patent Office fire.

Fulton’s boat, popularly known as the Clermont, was actually named North River Steamboat of Clermont. Its first voyage, on August 17, 1807, was up the Hudson River to Albany, N.Y, where it averaged about 5 miles per hour for the 150 mile trip. The Clermont was 133 feet long, 12 feet wide, with a draft of 2 feet. Its engines were built by Boulton and Watt in England and drove the two side paddle wheels. This was the first profitable venture in steam navigation.

On February 8, 1916, C.F. Kettering received U.S. Patent No. 1,171,055, on an Engine Starting, Lighting, and Ignition System:

In addition to the electrical ignition system of the ‘055 patent, Charles Franklin Kettering invented and patented (U.S. Patent No. 1,150,523) the self-starter for automobile engines:

Kettering graduated from Ohio State University in 1904 as an engineer. He helped found Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company or Delco, where he invented his most significant engine devices. His engine-driven generator, named the “Delco,” provided electricity on millions of farms. Kettering sold his company to General Motors, where he set up and ran a central research laboratory for 31 years, until his retirement in 1947. Among other things, the lab developed a lightweight diesel engine that made the diesel locomotive possible, the refrigerant Freon, four-wheel brakes, and safety glass. Kettering was the holder of more than 140 patents.

Along with GM President Alfred Sloan, he established the Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.

Many of us are searching for a unicorn of one kind or another, but inventor Timothy Zell did something about it. On February 7, 1984, Zell received U.S. Patent No. 4,429,685 on a Surgical Procedure (for making unicorns).

If you don’t feel like making your own unicorn (don’t worry the patent has expired so you don’t have to worry about infringement), Lake Superior State University will issue you a license to hunt your own — apply at: Unicorn Hunting License Request Form | Lake Superior State University.

During the 139th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., last Sunday, February 2, 2025, Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume announced that Punxsutawney Phil has forecast six more weeks of winter. Fortunately, on February 6, 1877, William Tell Steiger received U.S. Patent No. 186962 on a Foot-Warmer that might make these 42 additional days of winter a little more comfortable:

William Tell’s invention, which he called “Pedal Calorification” aims at economizing and utilizing the wasted heat in warm breath using “any simple contrivance for conveying it to our feet, where it is so much needed.”

William Tell Steiger was born on April 10, 1801, He lived in Howard County, Maryland in the 1860’s and 1870’s, and died on September 21, 1888, in Laurel, Maryland, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

On February 5, 1929, G. T. Bresnehan received U.S. Patent No. 1,701,026 on a Foot Support (a starting block for track runners):

G.T. Bresnahan was a successful athlete at Sterling and the University of Wisconsin-Madison before becoming a highly successful collegiate (Iowa Hawkeyes) and Olympic Coach. In addition to the adjustable starting block in the ‘026 patent, he received a nother patent (2144962) ten years later on another adjustable starting block:

and a patent (2,223,091) on a rubber-edged discuss.

Bresnahan and his discus co-inventer W.W. Tuttle literally wrote the book on track and field athletics:

On February 3, 1880, African-American inventor J.W. Waller received U.S. Patent No. 224,253 on a Shoemaker’s Cabinet or Bench: