Lincoln is the Only President Who Holds a Patent

Despite the fact that Benjamin Franklin was never president, about 25% of respondents to surveys will identify him as one. Franklin, though, was a well-known inventor. The number of true inventors who have been presidents significantly decreases when you remove him from the presidential pool. In actuality, only one president—Abraham Lincoln—has ever had a patent granted in their name.

Lincoln received a patent for a mechanism that may be used to buoy ships over shoals a few years before he was elected, in 1849. Lincoln's one and only patent, No. 6,468, was the result of his time spent as a ferryman, who had to cope with the inconvenience of navigating a ship through shoals. His boats ran aground twice, leaving him stranded.

In essence, the invention was a boat's airbags. The inflatable flotation devices may be lowered on a boat's sides, inflated, and then used to help the boat over the shoals and re-enter the water. It appears that it was never actually constructed, and its effectiveness is debatable.

• 16th President of the United States

Born: February 12, 1809Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died: April 15, 1865 (aged 56)Washington, D.C., U.S.