Henry Leavitt Ellsworth

Henry Leavitt Ellsworth
Henry Leavitt Ellsworth, first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, founder, United States Department of Agriculture
Born(1791-11-10)November 10, 1791.
DiedDecember 27, 1858(1858-12-27) (aged 67)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationAttorney
Known forFirst Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office
Political partyFree Soil Party
Children3, including Henry
RelativesOliver Ellsworth (father)
William W. Ellsworth (brother)
Elizur Goodrich (father-in-law)

Henry Leavitt Ellsworth (November 10, 1791 – December 27, 1858) was a Yale-educated attorney who became the first Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, where he encouraged innovation by inventors Samuel F.B. Morse and Samuel Colt. Ellsworth also served as the second president of the Aetna Insurance Company, and was a major donor to Yale College,[1] a commissioner to Indian tribes on the western frontier, and the founder of what became the United States Department of Agriculture.

  1. ^ Among the gifts and bequests made by Ellsworth to Yale was the Ellsworth Fund, which paid the tuition of Yale College students intending to enter the ministry.[1]