When I was in second grade at School #7, we learned all about local historical figures. George Eastman, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Jacob Bausch, Henry Lomb, Joseph C. Wilson, Nathaniel Rochester and George B. Selden.
We were taught Selden invented the automobile. If only his patent had been enforced, Rochester could have gotten as big as Detroit.
That’s the second-grade version. The whole story is a lot more complicated. It bears some striking similarities to the modern-day tale of Kodak. George Eastman even makes an appearance.
George B. Selden was born in 1846 in Clarkson, N.Y. He grew to despise horses during his service in the Civil War. He later became a patent lawyer and inventor.
Selden filed a patent on a combustion-powered automobile in 1879. George Eastman served as a witness to the patent. Selden, an avid photographer, had been a mentor to Eastman.
Selden’s patent was good for 17 years, but he was in no rush to receive it. He kept delaying its issue by filing legal motions. During those years he never actually opened a plant and made cars, but collected royalties from a group of manufacturers. Some say his strategy was to let others improve on his invention. Selden claimed he lacked capital to do anything.
One guy wouldn’t pay up – Henry Ford. “Selden can take his patent and go to Hell with it,” Ford executive James Couzens reportedly said.
Selden sued Ford. The case was heard in the Southern District of New York. The trial produced thousands and thousands of pages of documents. Ford argued Selden’s engine was totally different – and far inferior. In 1909 judge declared Selden the inventor of gasoline automobile.
Ford appealed. This time, the judge upheld Selden’s patent – but only for his specific engine. Ford had won.
Despite the court case that made headlines around the world, Selden and Ford didn’t become enemies. Selden said he admired Ford and Ford called Selden a “decent old fellow.”
Selden didn’t make out too badly. It’s estimated his patent earned him $200,000, a nice sum back then.
We can take pride in knowing Selden was declared the inventor of gasoline-powered automobile. But he never came up with a dynamite, mass-produced vehicle. That was Ford’s accomplishment.
Selden’s sons did start a factory that assembled vehicles in 1905. It was located on Probert St. The Selden Motor Vehicle eventually made only trucks. It was bought out in 1930 by a Pennsylvania company that moved the operation out of town.
The Selden name in the automobile industry was finished.