I just mentioned this in my class yesterday, Evan. Here's a link to a Smithsonian Magazine article with a picture of Lincoln's patent model:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abraham-lincoln-only-president-have-patent-131184751/

The "engineers in politics" angle is an interesting one, given how influential engineering thought was in Progressive Era social planning. In the early twentieth century, politically-inclined engineers, with Herbert Hoover as the most prominent example, seemed to come up through technocratic appointed positions.

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Andrew Meade McGee
Corcoran Department of History
University of Virginia
PO Box 400180 - Nau Hall
Charlottesville, VA 22904

On Sat, Feb 25, 2017 at 12:37 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan@vcfed.org> wrote:
All the examples so far are people from the business side. Not many true techies get into politics. Google search for "emgineers in Congress" returns a few.

Not sure of the accuracy but I've read that Lincoln was the only president -- then or since -- to hold a U.S. patent.
-------------------------
Evan Koblentz, director
Vintage Computer Federation
A 501(c)3 educational non-profit

Evan@vcfed.org
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