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Dry-Scouring (Dry Cleaning)
Thomas L. Jennings

Inventor
Thomas L. Jennings
Thomas L. Jennings (c. 1791 – February 12, 1859) was an African-American inventor, tradesman, entrepreneur, and abolitionist in New York City, New York. He has the distinction of being the first African-American patent-holder in history; he was granted the patent in 1821 for his novel method of dry cleaning. Jennings' invention, along with his business expertise, yielded a significant personal fortune, much of which he put into the abolitionist movement in the United States.
Thomas L. Jennings was born in about 1791, to a free African-American family in New York City. He later married a woman named Elizabeth, who was born a slave in Delaware in 1798 and died in March 5, 1873. Under New York’s gradual abolition law of 1799, she was converted to the status of an indentured servant and was not eligible for full emancipation until 1827. It freed slave children born after July 4, 1799, but only after they had served “apprenticeships” of twenty-eight years for men and twenty-five for women (far longer than traditional apprenticeships designed to teach a young person a craft), thus compensating owners for the future loss of their property.
Thomas L. Jennings was a tailor who later opened a dry-cleaning business in New York City. He eventually opened his own store on Church Street, which became one of the largest clothing stores in New York City.
Thomas developed his dry-cleaning process called dry-scouring as a tailor. His customers often complained of their clothes being ruined by stains, so he started experimenting with different chemicals that could protect the fabric while removing stains.
Jennings filed for a patent in 1821 and was granted a patent for the “dry-scouring” (dry cleaning) process he had invented just a year later. Tragically, the original patent was lost in a fire. But by then, Jennings’ process of using solvents to clean clothes was well-known and widely heralded.
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Dry-Scouring (Dry Cleaning)
Thomas L. Jennings

Biography
Thomas L. Jennings (c. 1791 – February 12, 1859) was an African-American inventor, tradesman, entrepreneur, and abolitionist in New York City, New York. He has the distinction of being the first African-American patent-holder in history; he was granted the patent in 1821 for his novel method of dry cleaning. Jennings' invention, along with his business expertise, yielded a significant personal fortune, much of which he put into the abolitionist movement in the United States.
Thomas L. Jennings was born in about 1791, to a free African-American family in New York City. He later married a woman named Elizabeth, who was born a slave in Delaware in 1798 and died in March 5, 1873. Under New York's gradual abolition law of 1799, she was converted to the status of an indentured servant and was not eligible for full emancipation until 1827. It freed slave children born after July 4, 1799, but only after they had served “apprenticeships” of twenty-eight years for men and twenty-five for women (far longer than traditional apprenticeships designed to teach a young person a craft), thus compensating owners for the future loss of their property. Thomas L. Jennings was a tailor who later opened a dry-cleaning business in New York City. He eventually opened his own store on Church Street, which became one of the largest clothing stores in New York City. Thomas developed his dry-cleaning process called dry-scouring as a tailor. His customers often complained of their clothes being ruined by stains, so he started experimenting with different chemicals that could protect the fabric while removing stains. Jennings filed for a patent in 1821 and was granted a patent for the "dry-scouring" (dry cleaning) process he had invented just a year later. Tragically, the original patent was lost in a fire. But by then, Jennings' process of using solvents to clean clothes was well-known and widely heralded.
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