Necessity is the mother of inventionToday we observe National Inventors Day, celebrated each year on

Necessity is the mother of invention

Today we observe National Inventors Day, celebrated each year on Thomas Edison’s birthdate. Edison held 1,093 patents – a record for sure! 

We are sharing this image from The Mission Indian newsletter dated February 1935. It depicts a home-made plow from the gold rush days, which they describe as “crude,” but in those days, people had to make do with what they had available. The resourcefulness and perseverance of these early pioneers was remarkable.

What is an invention you can’t live without?

We have digitized and made available online the newsletters from our series, The Mission Indian, which you can view here

Item: The Mission Indian, Volume 3, Number 6, 2./1935. Series: The Mission Indian, 1932 - 1941. Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1793 - 1999. (National Archives Identifier 176414828).