Hello,
I have a patron who is interested in seeing the original text that
contains the following quote:
Quote: "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
This quote was made by: Charles H. Duell who was the Commissioner
of the US Patent Office in 1899.
I searched the Quotations file on Dialog and in Academic Universe.
Also searched SSCI to see if Duell had been cited (he had not).
Any suggestions on where to look next would be appreciated. Thanks!
Grace Baysinger
Stanford University
It occurred to me that Charles H. Duell may have made his famous quote in
his turn-of-the-century Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents (the
publication that later became the Annual Index to the Official Gazette).
Duell did indeed write an extensive report that year. As usual, he included
statistics on patents filed and patents issued (with tables); he discussed
the progress of the Patent Office in persuading the government to give it
enough space to do its work properly; he talked about the work done in the
Patent Office and ended this with a commendation to Patent Office employees
"for their cheerful acquiescence in working over hours when necessary to
keep the work up to date." (Sounds familiar, yes? Plus ca change, plus
c'est la meme chose.)
I also took a look at Duell's first two reports, 1898 and 1899. In both he
discussed the new classification system and how important it was for true
patent examination, given the growth rate of U.S. patents. In both, he
commended the Patent Office staff but complained that some of the best
examiners were leaving because of inadequate salary, and that appropriations
for the scientific library were inadequate. (Still sounds familiar....)
In his 1899 report, Duell talked enthusiastically about US/foreign patent
and trademark interactions and quoted President McKinley: "Our future
progress and prosperity depend upon our ability to equal, if not surpass,
other nations in the enlargement and advance of science, industry, and
commerce. To invention we must turn as one of the most powerful aids to the
accomplishment of such a result." Duell added to this a plea to the 56th
Congress to pass the legislation needed to help improve the Patent Office.
Duell's 1900 report included 5 pages discussing the American patent system
and its history. (A fascinating bit of reading.) He ended this by saying,
"The world owes as much to inventors as to statesmen or warriors. To them
the United States is the greatest debtor, so much have they advanced
American manufactures. Their labor-saving machinery does work that it would
take millions of men using hand implements to perform. In this century the
debt will be piled still higher, for inventors never rest."
So, bottom line, I didn't find the quote that everything has already been
invented. But Duell, in all his reports, showed great enthusiasm for the
patent system and great anticipation of what was yet to come out of it. He
never hinted that the creative output of American inventors was slowing down
-- just the opposite. I am now very curious about the context of that
quote. It doesn't sound at all like something he would have said.
Nancy Lambert
nela@chevron.com