Shaw, Joshua

Name	Street	Town	State	From	To
Shaw, Joshua		Bordentown	New Jersey	1800
Shaw, Joshua		Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1820s	1841

Patent	Date	Remarks
(destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	June 10th, 1822	Percussion gun
5,485X (destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	May 7th, 1829	Guns and Fire Arms
7,313X (destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	December 3, 1832	Percussion for Cannon Primers
7,314X (destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	December 3, 1832	Portable Cannon Lock
7,315X (destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	December 3, 1832	Compression Cannon Lock
(destroyed in a fire in the U.S. Patent Office in 1836)	March 17, 1834	Percussion pistol and whip
1,958	January 30, 1841	Improvement in the Manner of Discharging Fire-Arms of Various Kind, Whether of the Smaller Kind - as Pistols, Guns, &c.-or Pieces of Ordnance view patent

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British origine, born 1777 and died 1860. In 1814 he invented the copper percussion cap. He, however, kept the discovery secret until his arrival in America, when he sought to obtain a patent for it, but was refused on the ground of his being an alien, the law at that time denying a patent to aliens unless they had resided two years in the country. His claim to the origination of the invention was, however, recognized, although a patent was refused. It was undoubtedly owing to this fact that Mr. Shaw became at a later period, an urgent advocate of reform in the patent laws of the United States, and their present liberal provisions are attributable doubtless, in considerable measure, to his exertions, the transactions of the Franklin Institute contain many papers upon the subject of patent law prepared by him. During the delay the public got possession of the improvement, and Mr. Shaw failed to reap any adequate reward for his invention. In 1822 he obtained a patent for the percussion cap and lock for small arms, and in 1828, another for the percussion locks and wafer primers for cannon. The justice of his claims was afterward disputed, the inventions being attributed in part to Alexander John Forsyth, clerk of Belhlvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to the celebrated Joseph Manton, London, and to John Day, of Barnstable, England, but the specification attached to their patents show that the copper cap as patented by Mr. Shaw, was a thing unknown to them. They had a knowledge of fulminates and methods of firing them, but there was only one thing in common with their methods and that of Mr. Shaw, the discharge of fulminates by percussion. After a protracted investigation of his claims, the United States subsequently awarded Mr. Shaw $25,000, a very small portion of its real debt to the accomplished inventor. The award speaks volumes for the genuineness of Mr. Shaw's claims, but little for the generosity of the Government toward the gifted son of her adoption, who had bestowed upon the world, to use the language of the Committee of Patents, in their report on Mr. Shaw's claims bearing date Feb. 10, 1846, "is one of the most ingenious, and one of the most useful inventions in modern times." Of this award Mr. Shaw only received $17,000, the estimate of his claims being subsequently unjustly reduced to that amount. Disputed claim of invention of copper cap, percussion. Shaw v. Cooper, 32 U.S. 7 Pet. 292 292 (1833) However, a claim for the percussion cap was filed in 1819 and granted in 1820 as an addition to an 1818 patent by Francois Prelat, two years before Shaw's patent. This doesn't necessarily make Prelat the inventor however, as he made a habit of copying English patents and inventions at the time and the mode of operation he describes is flawed.[6] According to historian Sidney James Gooding, the most likely inventor of the percussion cap is Joseph Egg, around 1817.[7] Shaw's percussion caps used a mixture of fulminate of mercury, chlorate of potash, and ground glass contained in a small metallic cup. Other possible claimants include Joseph Manton and Col. Peter Hawker. The discovery of fulminates was made by Edward Charles Howard (1774–1816) in 1800. The invention that made the percussion cap possible using the recently discovered fulminates was patented by the Rev. Alexander John Forsyth of Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1806.

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British origine, born 1777 and died 1860. In 1814 he invented the copper percussion cap. He, however, kept the discovery secret until his arrival in America, when he sought to obtain a patent for it, but was refused on the ground of his being an alien, the law at that time denying a patent to aliens unless they had resided two years in the country. His claim to the origination of the invention was, however, recognized, although a patent was refused.

It was undoubtedly owing to this fact that Mr. Shaw became at a later period, an urgent advocate of reform in the patent laws of the United States, and their present liberal provisions are attributable doubtless, in considerable measure, to his exertions, the transactions of the Franklin Institute contain many papers upon the subject of patent law prepared by him.

During the delay the public got possession of the improvement, and Mr. Shaw failed to reap any adequate reward for his invention. In 1822 he obtained a patent for the percussion cap and lock for small arms, and in 1828, another for the percussion locks and wafer primers for cannon. The justice of his claims was afterward disputed, the inventions being attributed in part to Alexander John Forsyth, clerk of Belhlvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to the celebrated Joseph Manton, London, and to John Day, of Barnstable, England, but the specification attached to their patents show that the copper cap as patented by Mr. Shaw, was a thing unknown to them. They had a knowledge of fulminates and methods of firing them, but there was only one thing in common with their methods and that of Mr. Shaw, the discharge of fulminates by percussion.

After a protracted investigation of his claims, the United States subsequently awarded Mr. Shaw $25,000, a very small portion of its real debt to the accomplished inventor. The award speaks volumes for the genuineness of Mr. Shaw's claims, but little for the generosity of the Government toward the gifted son of her adoption, who had bestowed upon the world, to use the language of the Committee of Patents, in their report on Mr. Shaw's claims bearing date Feb. 10, 1846, "is one of the most ingenious, and one of the most useful inventions in modern times." Of this award Mr. Shaw only received $17,000, the estimate of his claims being subsequently unjustly reduced to that amount.

Disputed claim of invention of copper cap, percussion. Shaw v. Cooper, 32 U.S. 7 Pet. 292 292 (1833)

However, a claim for the percussion cap was filed in 1819 and granted in 1820 as an addition to an 1818 patent by Francois Prelat, two years before Shaw's patent. This doesn't necessarily make Prelat the inventor however, as he made a habit of copying English patents and inventions at the time and the mode of operation he describes is flawed.[6] According to historian Sidney James Gooding, the most likely inventor of the percussion cap is Joseph Egg, around 1817.[7] Shaw's percussion caps used a mixture of fulminate of mercury, chlorate of potash, and ground glass contained in a small metallic cup. Other possible claimants include Joseph Manton and Col. Peter Hawker.

The discovery of fulminates was made by Edward Charles Howard (1774–1816) in 1800. The invention that made the percussion cap possible using the recently discovered fulminates was patented by the Rev. Alexander John Forsyth of Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1806.