William b purvis education
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William B. Purvis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids William B. Purvis | |
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| Born | (1838-08-12)August 12, 1838 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 10, 1914(1914-08-10) (aged 75) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Known for | Inventions |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | James Forten (grandfather), Charlotte Vandine Forten (grandmother), Robert Purvis (uncle), Margaretta Forten (aunt), Harriet Forten Purvis (aunt) |
William B. Purvis (12 August 1838 – 10 August 1914) was an African-American inventor and businessman who received multiple patents in the late 1800s. His inventions included improvements on paper bags, an updated fountain pen design, improvement to the hand stamp, and a close-conduit electric railway system.
Life
William B. Purvis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a wealthy and influential family, one of the eight children of Joseph Purvis, a gentleman farmer and Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis, noted poet. William's maternal grandfather was African-American sailmaker, merchant, philanthropist, inventor, civil rights agitator and Abolitionist James
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William Purvis of Philadelphia invented and patented improvements to the fountain pen in 1890. William Purvis made several improvements to the fountain pen in order to make a "more durable, inexpensive, and better pen to carry in the pocket." Purvis used an elastic tube between the pen nib and the ink reservoir that used a suction action to return any excess ink to the ink reservoir, reducing ink spills and increasing the longevity of the ink. Fountain pens were first patented as early as 1809.
William Purvis - Improved Fountain Pen - patent #419,065 1/7/1890
William Purvis also invented several other inventions including two machines for making paper bags (which Purvis sold to the Union Paper Bag Company of New York), a bag fastener, a self-inking hand stamp, and several devices for electric railroads. His first paper bag machine (patent #293,353) created satchel bottom type bags in an improved volume and greater automation than previous machines.
William Purvis realized how much of an inconvenienceit was to have to carry around a bottle of ink whenever you needed to sign a contract or fill out legal papers. He therefore decided to do something about it. On January 7, 1890, Purvis received a patent for the fountain pen. The pen eliminated the need for an ink bottle by storing ink within a reservoir within the pen which is then fed to the pen’s tip. Of his accomplishment, Purvis said, “the object of my invention is to provide a simple, durable, and inexpensive construction of a fountain pen adapted to general use and which may be carried in the pocket.” The creation of the fountain pen has made office work cleaner and less expensive for businesses all over the world. In addition to his fountain pen, Purvis, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also successfully patented a number of other inventions. Between 1884 and 1897 he patented bag machines, a bag fastener, a hand stamp, an electric railway device, an electric railway switch and a magnetic car balancing device. He also is believed to have invented , yet not
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William Purvis - Bag fastener - patent #256,856 4/25/1882
William Purvis - Hand stamp - patent #2 •