Lebbeus Harding Rogers (1847–1932) was an American inventor and businessman from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Rogers was the founder of Mount Morris Bank in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. and the inventor of the system of burying utilities underground in flexible tubing. Roger held over 50

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 ...

s and was the author of four books. In 1870, Rogers founded the Rogers Manifold Carbon Paper Company in New York City, the first company in America, and possibly in the world, to produce

carbon paper Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) consists of sheets of paper which create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. History In 1801, Pellegrino Turri, ...

, even before the advent of typewriters. A good friend of inventor

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

, Rogers turned down an offer to purchase a tenth share of Bell's telephone patent, which would have ultimately made Rogers a very rich man. Rogers died in his home in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

on December 16, 1932.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Lebbeus Harding 1847 births 1932 deaths 19th-century American inventors 20th-century American inventors