This Day in History — Inventors

On March 10, 1849, Abraham Lincoln applied for a patent for a device designed to lift boats over shallow river obstructions. Inspired by his own experiences on Midwestern waterways, Lincoln’s invention aimed to improve navigation. He remains the only U.S. president to ever hold a patent.

On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the U.S. patent for the telephone, marking a turning point in communication history. His invention made it possible to transmit the human voice electrically, transforming how people connect across distances and laying the foundation for the global telecommunications networks used today.

When Thomas Edison opened the Black Maria, the world’s first movie studio, he wasn’t just building a workshop—he was creating the birthplace of cinema itself. Inside the small, sun-lit structure, dancers, boxers, and performers moved before a camera that could finally capture life in motion. These brief, flickering films amazed audiences and proved that moments could be preserved and replayed. From that humble rotating shed grew an entirely new art form, one that would forever change how humanity tells stories and remembers its past.