John Patch (1781 – August 27, 1861) was a

Nova Scotian A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

fisherman who invented one of the first versions of the

screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

Early life

Patch was born in

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regi ...

in 1781. His father Nehemiah was a Yarmouth sea captain who died in a shipwreck at

Seal Island, Nova Scotia Seal Island (also known as Great Seal Island) is an island on the outermost extreme of Southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Municipality of the District of Argyle in Yarmouth County. It is approximately long and wide and is surrounded on i ...

soon after John Patch's birth.

Fishing career

Earning a living as a mariner and fishermen, Patch observed the efficiency of small boats propelled by single oar

sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...

and began to experiment with a propeller based in the motions of a sculling oar. During the winter of 1832-1833 he built a hand-cranked version of a doubled-bladed fan-shaped propeller. He demonstrated his propeller during the summer of 1833 before crowds watching as his small boat moved, seemingly magically, across Yarmouth Harbour. Patch further experimented by attaching his invention to a 25-ton coastal schooner named ''Royal George'' in the Bay of Fundy. The propeller allowed ''Royal George'' to enter

Saint John Harbour Saint John Harbour is a large Harbour#Natural harbors, natural harbour on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of New Brunswick, Canada, and within the seaport city of Saint John, New Brunswick. Harbour description The harbour includes the follo ...

in a calm which stranded other sailing vessels. Patch's invention was 4 years before

John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which com ...

's famous

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

on the screw propeller in Britain. Patch lacked the funds to travel to Britain for a patent but instead tried to patent his propeller in the United States in 1832. However his application was refused as he was not an American citizen. Patch continued to improve his propeller and when American laws changed to permit patents by non-citizens, he received an American patent in 1849. Patch's propeller received some recognition, including praise for its efficiency in

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

magazine. However, by 1849 there were multiple competing versions of the screw propeller in Europe and America. Patch never received money or recognition.

Later life and death

A petition by Yarmouth citizens to reward his innovation with a pension from the Nova Scotia government in the 1858 was unsuccessful and he died a poor man at Yarmouth in 1861.

Recognition

Although Patch's invention was well documented at the time, his invention was overlooked amidst the many developers of the screw propeller and he has received few tributes. His invention is presented at an exhibit at the

Yarmouth County Museum & Archives The Yarmouth County Museum & Archives is a museum located in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. This museum explores the history of Yarmouth County. Located in the heart of Yarmouth's heritage residential district, the museum is housed in a former c ...

and a propeller-driven lifeboat in the collection of the

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The museum is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

is named in his honour. The Propeller Brewing Company in Halifax have promoted John Patch as their mascot and a Pubnico songwriter named Vince d'Entrement wrote a ballad about Patch."Vince d'Entrement" Official Website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patch, John 1781 births 1861 deaths Canadian inventors People from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Colony of Nova Scotia people