November 5, 1895 – Selden patents the automobile
George B. Selden driving an automobile in 1905
When patent lawyer George B. Selden first filed with the US Patent Office for an internal combustion engine on May 8, 1879, it included the application of the device on a four wheel vehicle. Selden named it the Road Engine. He developed this idea some eight years before the introduction of the Benz Patent Motorwagen in Germany. He continued to file many amendments to his application, which delayed the process 16 years. He finally received a patent for his engine and car on this day in 1895.
Selden found inspired for his invention after viewing a huge engine developed by George Brayton on display at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. In 1878 he succeeded in producing a one-cylinder, 400-pound version of an inte...
