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

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

fisherman who invented one of the first versions of the

screw propeller A propeller (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 a working flu ...

Early life

Patch was born in

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a port town located on the Bay of Fundy in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. Yarmouth is the shire town of Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Yarmouth County and is the largest population centre in the region. History Originally inhab ...

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. It is in the Municipality of the District of Argyle in the Yarmouth County. It is approximately long and wide and is sur ...

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, its ...

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 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 engineer and inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive Novelty (lo ...

'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 sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

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 scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'' 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 o ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

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