5. Abraham Lincoln’s Patent
Abraham Lincoln remains the only U.S. president to hold a patent. In 1849, he was granted Patent No. 6,469 for a device designed to lift boats over shallow water. Inspired by his experiences on the Mississippi River, the invention featured inflatable bellows attached to a boat’s sides, which could be expanded to raise the vessel over obstructions. Although it was never commercially produced, a scale model of the device is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution. (si.edu)
