President George Washington personally signed the first U.S. patent.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent government archival sources (National Archives, Library of Congress) plus USPTO records; consistent with requirements of the Patent Act of 1790.
Sources
- Milestones in U.S. patenting | USPTO (uspto.gov)
- https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/summer/patent.html (archives.gov)
- https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-15-183/ (loc.gov)