John Ruggles (October 8, 1789—June 20, 1874) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. He served in several important state legislative and judicial positions before serving in the U.S. Senate. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The federal government of the United States was established by the United States Constitution. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ...

Ruggles was born in Westborough, Massachusetts. He attended public school there and in 1813 graduated from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Ruggles studied law, and after being admitted to the bar in 1815 he began practicing in Skowhegan, Maine. Two years later, Ruggles moved to Thomaston. In 1823, Ruggles was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. He served in the House until 1931, and was speaker (1825 –1829 and again in 1831). He resigned from the state house to replace Samuel E. Smith (who had been elected governor) as a justice of the supreme judicial court of Maine, serving until 1834. Westborough is a town located in Worcester County, Massachusetts. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Brown University is an Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Motto: What Cheer Nickname: Beehive of Industry Location in Rhode Island Founded  -Incorporated 1636 1832  County Providence County Mayor David N. Cicilline (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 53. ... State nickname: The Ocean State, Little Rhody Other U.S. States Capital Providence Largest city Providence Governor Donald Carcieri (R) Official languages None Area 4,005 km² (50th)  - Land 2,709 km²  - Water 1,296 km² (32. ... 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Skowhegan is a town located in Somerset County, Maine. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... Thomaston (CDP), Maine Thomaston (town), Maine South Thomaston, Maine This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Maines house of Representatives is part of the states legislature, the other being the State Senate. ... 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The term Speaker is usually the title given to the presiding officer of a countrys lower house of parliament or congress (i. ... 1825 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1829 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This is a list of Governors of Maine since statehood in 1820. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The state legislature elected Ruggles as a Democratic-Republican (Jacksonian) to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Peleg Sprague. He was later elected for the full term beginning March 4, 1835, and in total served from January 20, 1835, to March 3, 1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1840. The Democratic-Republican party was a United States political party, which evolved early in the history of the United States. ... Jacksonian democracy is the term used in American politics to describe the period when the common man participated in the government, occurring after Jeffersonian democracy. ... Categories: People stubs | United States Senators | 1793 births | 1880 deaths | Members of the U.S. House of Representatives ... March 4 is the 63rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (64th in leap years). ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

During his tenure in Congress, Ruggles had served as chairman of the Committee on Patents and Patent Office (25th Congress), and in 1836 framed the bill for the reorganization of the United States Patent Office. He was known for his interest in inventions and patents, and because of his legislative accomplishments in this area he has become known as the "Father of the U.S. Patent Office." Ruggles also was an inventor and the patent-holder of U.S. Patent 1, issued July 13, 1836. His invention was a type of train wheel designed to reduce the adverse effects of the weather on the track. Note that this was not the first patent ever from the USPTO, the previous patents were destroyed by fire and afterwards called the X-Patents, and new patents afterwards were numbers from 1 again. Ruggles got the first from the new system, Samuel Hopkins recieved the first X-Patent. Seal of the Congress. ... Twenty-fifth United States Congress Links and spelling have to be verified. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent and trademark protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions and corporate and product identification. ... In music, an invention is a short composition with two or three part counterpoint. ... Patent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... July 13th is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... X-Patent number 72, Eli Whitneys cotton gin The X-Patents are all the patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office from July 1790 (when the first U.S. patent was issued), to July 1836. ... Samuel Hopkins ( December 9, 1743 – 1818 ) was an American inventor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

In retirement, Ruggles resumed the practice of law in Thomaston. There he made several more inventions and was well-known as a political writer and orator. Ruggles was wealthy; he and his wife Margaret George Ruggles had children and lived in the largest house on the town's Main Street. He died in 1874 a few months before reaching age 85. He is interred in the Elm Grove Cemetery. Thomaston is a town located in Knox County, Maine. ...

Sources

• "Ruggles, John." Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography. [1]
• "Ruggles, John." The Political Graveyard. [2]
• "Ruggles, John, 1789-1874." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. [3]
• Reggles, John. Letter to the U.S. Patent Office. [4]
• "Senator John Ruggles." Thomaston Historical Society. [5]