Charles Newbold (1764–1835) was an American

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

born in

Chesterfield, New Jersey Chesterfield, originally known as Recklesstown, is an unincorporated community located around the intersection of County Route 528 (Bordentown-Chesterfield Road, Chesterfield-Arneytown Road) and County Route 677 (Chesterfield-Georgetown Road) in ...

. On June 26, 1797, Newbold received the first

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 ...

for a cast-iron plow. However, he was unable to sell his

plow A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

because many

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

s feared that the

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

in it would poison the soil. On April 1, 1807, inventor David Peacock was issued a patent for a three-piece iron plow (Newbold's plow was cast in one piece). Newbold then sued Peacock for

patent infringement Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may v ...

and won $1500.

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* 1764 births 1835 deaths 18th-century American inventors American blacksmiths People from Chesterfield Township, New Jersey Engineers from New Jersey American patent holders Inventors from New Jersey {{Agri-stub