Jefferson: Innovator or Inventor?

"The fact is that one idea leads to another, that to a 3d, and so on thro' a course of time, until some one, with whom no one of these ideas was original, combines all together, and produces what is justly called a new invention"

- Thomas Jefferson, 1818

Inventions ... Innovations ... Gadgets ... Enlightened Entrepreneurs

Inventions

Visitors to Monticello often think of Jefferson as an inventor, but he was really more of an innovator. Rather than creating original ideas, Jefferson generally improved upon or adapted items already in existence in novel ways. His three true inventions are the Moldboard Plow to till the soil, the Cipher Wheel to encode and decode messages, and the Zig-Zag Roof system to capture rainwater.

The Moldboard Plow Jefferson's "Mouldboard Plow of Least Resistance"

Cipher Wheel Jefferson devised a handy way to encode and decode messages

Zig Zag Roof Jefferson developed unique ways of collecting rain water

Innovations

"I am not afraid of new inventions or improvements..."
Thomas Jefferson, 1810

Monticello was a laboratory for Jefferson's innovative adaptation of technology and design.

Architecture Jefferson's "essay in architecture," constructed by enslaved craftsmen and hired artisans, combined classical, neo-classical, and Jeffersonian concepts to create an American and icon

Windows & Light Drawing on his experience in Europe, Jefferson's innovative use of windows and skylights flooded the house with light and masked the physical size of the structure

Spherical Sundial Thomas Jefferson’s sundial was something of a novelty in its time. There is no evidence that spherical dials were in use in North America before Jefferson's design, although various types existed in Europe.

Gadgets

Jefferson experimented with technological improvements throughout his life and amassed a wide-ranging collection of gadgets and machines at Monticello.

Polygraph Jefferson owned several "Hawkins-Peale" polygraph copying machines, which he described as "the finest invention of the present age"

Dumbwaiters With "a greater eye to convenience," Jefferson employed a number of mechanical gadgets at Monticello, including several different types of dumbwaiters

Lightning Rod Benjamin Franklin's lightning rods found a home at Monticello

Textile Technology Monticello's enslaved women operated complex machines to boost production for Jefferson's textile operations

Timekeeping Jefferson filled Monticello with timekeeping devices, some made to his own specifications, including an astronomical clock and the house's Great Clock

Air Pump The Vacuum Air Pump in Jefferson's Parlor reflects his fascination with scientific gadgets

Enlightened Entrepreneurs

"Nobody wishes more than I do that ingenuity should receive liberal encouragement" Thomas Jefferson, 1807

Jefferson's writings reveal his lifelong promotion of invention and innovation, driven by his Age of Enlightenment belief that that the human condition could be continually improved. While Secretary of State, Jefferson granted the first American patent and his basic principles for granting copyrights remain in effect today.

Robert Fulton Thomas Jefferson and Robert Fulton were friends who shared many common interests and corresponded about inventions and projects, like the Erie Canal

Patents "An act of Congress authorising the issuing patents for new discoveries has given a spring to invention beyond my conception" - Thomas Jefferson, 1790