Commemorating the 400-year anniversary of establishing British patents
In the heart of London, a commemorative project is underway, showcasing the nation's rich history of innovation. Led by the creative collective of still life photographer Ted Humble-Smith, the project explores standout patents from the last 400 years, painting a vivid picture of Britain's role as a global innovator.
Britain has been the birthplace of hundreds of major technological innovations with formal patents over the past four centuries. The Industrial Revolution and the years that followed saw the patenting of several seminal inventions, such as the steam locomotive, the printing telegraph, the pin tumbler lock, and many more throughout the 19th century.
The British patent system, dating back to the 17th century, has played a crucial role in protecting these world-changing technologies. Notable inventions include the electric telegraph, patented by Cooke and Wheatstone in 1837, and John Herschel’s blueprint process in 1840. During the 19th century alone, Britain was a major center of innovation, with tens of thousands of patents granted.
One of the most significant inventions to emerge from this period was the electric telegraph. In 1837, Charles Wheatstone and William Cooke demonstrated the world's first electric telegraph system to the directors of the London and Birmingham Railway. Known as the 'Five Needle Telegraph', this system marks the origin of one of the UK's largest communications companies today: BT. The electric telegraph transformed world communications from the 1840s onwards, enabling Greenwich time to be distributed across Britain and reducing message delivery time between Europe and North America from weeks to hours with the laying of a transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.
The Patent Law Amendment Act, created in 1852, established The Patent Office, which started to address a longstanding grievance by publishing records of English patents granted before 1852. One of the first patents, if accounting for Britain's transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, would actually be GB2, issued to Nicholas Hillyard on 1 May 1617. The archive of patents from The Patent Office represents one of the world's oldest and most widely respected systems of Intellectual Property.
The project also highlights the contributions of individuals like Sir Peter Mansfield, who passed away this year. After a degree in physics at Queen Mary College, University of London, Sir Peter joined the University of Nottingham as a physics lecturer in 1964 and remained there for 30 years. In the 1970s, he led a team at the University of Nottingham that developed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medicine. For his work, Sir Peter shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with the American chemist and MRI inventor Paul Lauterbur.
Other significant figures in Britain's innovation history include George Albert Smith, who developed the world's first successful color film process, Kinemacolor, which he patented in 1906. Kinemacolor was unveiled to a stunned audience at Urbanora House on Wardour Street in May 1908, marking a new era in the film industry. By 1914, Wardour Street was home to more than 20 film companies due to the production boom caused by Kinemacolor.
As we delve deeper into Britain's past, it becomes clear that the nation has been a driving force in technological advancement for centuries. From the steam locomotive to the electric telegraph, MRI, and color film, Britain's inventions have shaped the world we live in today. The commemorative project serves as a testament to this rich history, highlighting the countless innovations that have emerged from British minds and the systems that have protected them.
For those interested in learning more about the history of film and photography, a visit to the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford is highly recommended. The museum offers a wealth of information on these and other technological advancements that have defined Britain's innovative spirit.
- Britain's rich history of innovation is evident in the numerous major technological innovations with formal patents over the past four centuries, such as the electric telegraph, the steam locomotive, the printing telegraph, the pin tumbler lock, and more recent developments like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
- Notable medical contributions from Britons include Sir Peter Mansfield, who shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing MRI, a significant breakthrough in modern medicine.
