Talk:Abraham Lincoln's patent

Abraham Lincoln's patent was one of the Engineering and technology good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones Date Process Result March 13, 2021 Good article nominee Listed February 25, 2023 Good article reassessment Delisted A fact from this article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "Did you know?" column on January 3, 2012. The text of the entry was: Did you know ... that Abraham Lincoln was the only U.S. president to have a registered patent to an invention? Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on May 22, 2014, and May 22, 2018. Current status: Delisted good article

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Moments ago I was asked to come take a look at this article. I was immediately impressed with the extensive development of the article. However, for an article with 6505 characters of prose, the

I think that the numerous one-line sentences should be merged or expanded. There are stylistic issues in some of the sentences, but not much that is clearly wrong.--

WP:FOUR) 18:29, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply

]

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Ship camel is essentially the same thing, invented 150 years earlier in Holland. It might make sense to mention that in the article. Paul Koning (talk) 20:57, 9 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

This review is

transcluded from Talk:Abraham Lincoln's patent/GA1

. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Zawed (talk · contribs) 08:55, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• I'll review this one, comments to follow in due course. Cheers, Zawed (talk) 08:55, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• @Zawed: Thanks for taking this one. I look forward to the issues and will address them all.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:49, 27 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• @Zawed: Is there anything further on issues? Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 09:04, 5 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• @Doug Coldwell:, apologies, I have been getting sidetracked with another project. I will be looking at this over the weekend. Cheers, Zawed (talk) 09:57, 5 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

On reviewing this, I think it needs some work before it is GA, primarily to improve readability. I have made some initial comments, some of which suggest some trimming. In light of that, I will have a more detailed review of the text once you have reviewed and enacted/responded to my suggestions. I have still commented on a few things I picked up as I went along though. Part of my interest in this article is that I actually work in patent law. Admittedly that is in New Zealand, but I do have experience with the US patent system.

Background

• As a general comment, the background is overly detailed, with some material that is quite tangential to the subject e.g. Johnston, Hanks, the purchase of the canoe, "Lincoln took this opportunity in the next six years of employment to acquire any learning material he could and consulted with scholars". I believe a critical eye needs to be turned on this section to keep it to the pertinent information.

Furthermore, the last two paragraphs feel like the belong in the Patent section, since they pertain directly to the subject of the article.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:04, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• He eventually came up with an idea for inflatable flotation. suggest: "He eventually came up with an invention to achieve this, which involved flotation bladders".

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 11:38, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln labelled his innovation Manner for Buoying Vessels to get them over shoals. I don't think the "to get them over shoals" is part of the title (which should be italicised). Also move the link on shoals to its first mention. Actually, I note that the title of the patent is "Buoying Vessels over Shoals", so that should be explicitly stated as well.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:46, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• It is the only United States patent ever registered to a reigning President. This implies that Lincoln was president at the time he was granted the patent. Also this sentence is a little out of place here; I would suggest moving it to the end of the patent section.

•  Done Reworded. --Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:12, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln's patented invention model... this statement combines two separate things, one the patented invention, two, the model. Delete the reference to the model.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:21, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• The filing date of the application for a patent is noted in the infobox but not explicitly stated in the article. As such it is uncited.

•  Done - Now cited. --Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:39, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• (beginning March 1847) I would actually integrate this into the text, rather than bracket it.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:42, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• which became patent No. 6,469 on May 22, 1849 suggest "which was granted as Patent No. 6,469 on May 22, 1849."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 13:53, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• The model probably would have been submitted to the USPTO with the application, so if the sources allow it, explicitly state that.

Interestingly, even today, if a patent application is filed for a perpetual motion machine, the patent examiner is allowed to request that a working model be submitted.

•  Done - It was transferred from the USPTO to NMAH in 1922 (cited). --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:39, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• About that time, Lincoln took his four year old son... This immediately follows the comments of Paul Johnston on the merits of Lincoln's invention, which seem to have been made in 2006. Ergo, this sets the context for "About that time"

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Link the patent office on first mention.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Patent

• This section only consists of images. As noted above, I think some of the content from the background section should be moved here. For the image of the model, the caption starts: "Lincoln's patent showing...". It really should say something like: "The model submitted by Lincoln to the USPTO for his patent, showing..." For the patent drawings image, capitalise the p in "patent No. 6,469

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Legacy

• Lincoln is the only United States president to have taken out a patent. His invention on a device to buoy boats over sandbars was not a commercial success. I feel these two sentences would be better off in the previous section. Also, the first sentence repeats subject matters already expressed (see my comment above RE reigning president).

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• The U. S. patent law has a constitutional foundation... This doesn't quite read right, suggest "Patent law in the United States has a constitutional foundation..."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• I would move the entire first paragraph of this section to the end. That way the legacy section starts off with Lincoln's exposure to patent law. It also puts things more chronologically.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln was himself a patent lawyer. this sentence should be moved to the start of the following paragraph.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:37, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

References

• Note 26 is to a catalog of books, including Emerson (listed as a source); should Emerson be cited instead?

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 20:55, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Note 28 links to a different website altogether - doesn't strike me as a RS.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 11:48, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Note 30 (McLean) seems to be a book so should be listed with sources for consistency.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 11:21, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Note 32 the presentation of this cite seems inconsistent with the other journals cited.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:00, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Sources

• An ISBN/ISSN for Dobyns?

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:18, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• AN OCLC for Writer's Project? Ditton Herndon and McCormick?

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:18, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• ISBN for Mable? Also it should be Heroes in the title

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:18, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Images

• Image tags look appropriate.

That's all for now and apologies for the delay in providing these comments. Zawed (talk) 02:59, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

•  Working Thanks for review. I'll get working on the issues.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 11:27, 6 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• @Zawed: All issues have been addressed. Could you take another look. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 21:35, 7 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

You missed some issues noted:

• There is still some excessive detail in the background section.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:54, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• It is the only United States patent ever registered to a United States President. As previously noted above, this sentence is out of place, suggest moving it to where it mentions congressman. I suggest something like "At the time the Patent was issued, Lincoln was a Congressman. He is the only United States president to be a patentee."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:23, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln labeled his innovation Buoying Vessels Over Shoals to get them over shoals. This sentence is about what he called the invention. The "to get over shoals" is about the use of the invention.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:38, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• There is still a typo in the title of the Mabel ref.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:38, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's just on a first pass of your changes. Zawed (talk) 07:25, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• @Zawed: All additional issues have been addressed. Could you take another look. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 10:54, 10 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• User:Zawed All additional issues have been addressed. Could you take another look. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 19:42, 11 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Coming back to this now.

Lead

• Abraham Lincoln conceived the idea of inventing a mechanism that would lift a boat over shoals and obstructions when on two occasions... this duplicates part of the previous sentence. Suggest "Abraham Lincoln conceived the invention idea of inventing a mechanism that would lift a boat over shoals and obstructions when on two occasions..."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:06, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Move the last sentence of the first para to the end of the second. Keeps things chronological.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:06, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• This device was composed... suggest "Lincoln's device was composed..."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:06, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Add a sentence after the first of the 2nd paragraph, stating something like "Filed on March 10, 1849, Lincoln's patent was issued as Patent No. 6,469 later that year, on 22 May." This provides context/antecedence for the following sentence which refers to the successful patent application.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 12:06, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Background

• There could be a bit more trimming here. My suggestion is to change the following sentence that appears in the first paragraph: "He, John D. Johnston (his stepmother's son) and John Hanks were hired as laborers by Denton Offutt to take a flatboat and its cargo of merchandise to New Orleans." Then delete the first three sentences of the second paragraph. That would keep this section more on point.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:09, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• link for Old Sangamon town? Also mention that they were travelling on the Sangamon River (and link the river).

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:09, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• As the boat was sinking... the previous sentence stated the boat got "hung up", which I interpret as getting stuck, not sinking.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:09, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln started his political career in New Salem. Near the top of his agenda was improvement... suggest moving this to end the previous paragraph, "When Lincoln started his political career in New Salem, an important issue for him was improvement..."

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:09, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Patent

• There are a couple of sentences chronologically out of place here. Suggest "Robbins processedfiled the application on March 10, 1849. It was granted as..." then delete the "originally filed" sentence. The sentence "Lincoln's patent is the end result of Offutt's..." would work better to follow that where it is mentioned that it was "granted as"

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:41, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• The device was never produced for practical use.[1][2] There are doubts as to whether it would have actually worked... suggest "The device was never produced for

practical use[1][2] and there are doubts as to whether it would have actually worked." It combines two quite short sentences.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:41, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Lincoln took his four year old son... At this point, split this into its own paragraph and then whack the sentence "Lincoln's model that he submitted..." to end it.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 15:41, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Legacy

• It led him to deliver two lectures on the subject,... In the lead, it explicitly says that these were delivered while he was president. It doesn't say that here.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:18, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

References

• In note 23 (McCormick), the year is bracketed which is inconsistent with the treatment of the other refs.

•  Done --Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:18, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

That's it for me. Zawed (talk) 10:08, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• @Zawed: All additional issues have been addressed. Could you take another look. Thanks.--Doug Coldwell (talk) 16:18, 12 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• I'm happy with this, passing as GA as I believe that this meets the relevant criteria. Zawed (talk) 00:24, 13 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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