The United States issues patent number 11,000,000 today, three years after the USPTO issued patent number 10 million.
The first patent, which was signed by George Washington, was issued on July 31, 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for a process of making potash, an ingredient used in fertilizer. By 1836, over 9,900 patents had been issued. On July 13 of that year the U.S. started numbering patents. Patent No. 1 was issued to John Ruggles for a traction wheel for steam locomotives.
Since then, patents have issued at an exponential rate.
Patent No. 11,000,000 is for a new method for delivering, positioning, and/or repositioning a collapsible and expandable stent frame within a patient’s heart chamber.
Other interesting historical facts about patents can be found on the USPTO’s page Milestones in U.S. Patenting.