Marcellus Bailey (1840 – January 16, 1921) was an American

patent attorney A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

who, with Anthony Pollok, helped prepare

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

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 ...

s for the

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

and related inventions.

Biography

The son of

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

and '' National Era'' editor Gamaliel Bailey, Marcellus Bailey was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and was a major in the Union Army during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. After the war he studied law at the Columbian College Law Department (now the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

), and graduated in 1866. Bailey became a patent attorney and continued his patent law practice for almost 55 years until his death. When Alexander Graham Bell began work on the telephone, Bailey was a partner of patent attorney Anthony Pollok in the law firm of Pollok & Bailey. Bell's patron and future father-in-law Gardiner Hubbard paid Pollok and Bailey to work on Bell's patent applications and patents. Bailey was a founding member of the Metropolitan Club, and President of the Alibi Club. The Alexander Graham Bell Papers collection at the Library of Congress contain letters from Bell to Pollok and Bailey regarding Bell's patents for the telephone. Bailey died in Washington, D.C., on January 16, 1921 and is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown.

Some patents that Pollok & Bailey prosecuted

* issued May 17, 1887, basic patent for arc welding, inventors Benardos & Olszewski * ''Improvement in Transmitters and Receivers for Electric Telegraphs'', Bell patent filed March 6, 1875, issued April 1875 (multiplexing signals on a single wire) * ''Improvement in Telegraphy'', Bell patent filed February 14, 1876, issued March 7, 1876 (Bell's first telephone patent) * ''Improvement in Telephonic Telegraph Receivers'', Bell patent filed April 1876, issued June 1876 * ''Improvement in Generating Electric Currents'' Bell patent filed August 1876, issued August 1876 * ''Electric Telegraphy'' Bell patent filed January 15, 1877, issued January 30, 1877

References

George Washington University Law School article on Bailey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Marcellus People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union army officers Alexander Graham Bell Lawyers from Cincinnati American patent attorneys 1840 births 1921 deaths Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)

Biography

Some patents that Pollok & Bailey prosecuted

See also

References