The Little-Known Story Of Mary Kenner, The First Black American Woman To Earn Five Patents
It is part of Mary Kenner’s story, and it is part of the story of American invention more broadly.
The Specific Value of Patent Documentation
One of the few things that has allowed historians to recover the stories of Black inventors — including Mary Kenner — is the relative completeness of the patent record.
United States patents are a matter of public record.
Anyone can search the patent database and find patents held by specific individuals or covering specific technologies.
The patent record does not lie about who held what patents or when.
This makes the patent record unusual among American historical records.
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