Marcellus Bailey facts for kids

Marcellus Bailey (born 1840, died 1921) was an American lawyer who helped inventors protect their ideas. He worked with another lawyer, Anthony Pollok. Together, they helped Alexander Graham Bell get the official papers, called patents, for his amazing invention: the telephone. They also helped with other inventions related to the telephone.

Marcellus Bailey's Life Story

Marcellus Bailey was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Gamaliel Bailey, was an editor for a newspaper called The National Era. His father was also an abolitionist, meaning he worked to end slavery.

During the American Civil War, Marcellus Bailey was a major in the Union Army. After the war, he studied law at a school that is now part of the George Washington University Law School. He finished his law studies in 1866.

Bailey became a special kind of lawyer called a patent attorney. A patent attorney helps inventors get patents. A patent is like an official permission slip from the government. It gives an inventor the right to be the only one who can make, use, or sell their invention for a certain time. This stops others from stealing their ideas.

Marcellus Bailey worked as a patent attorney for nearly 55 years! He was a partner in a law firm called Pollok & Bailey with Anthony Pollok.

Helping Alexander Graham Bell

When Alexander Graham Bell was working on the telephone, he needed help getting patents. Bell's supporter, Gardiner Hubbard (who later became Bell's father-in-law), hired Pollok and Bailey. They helped Bell prepare all the paperwork for his patent applications and get his important telephone patents approved.

Bailey was also one of the people who started the Metropolitan Club. He was also the President of the Alibi Club.

Today, you can find letters from Alexander Graham Bell to Pollok and Bailey. These letters are about Bell's telephone patents. They are kept in the Alexander Graham Bell Papers collection at the Library of Congress.

Marcellus Bailey passed away in Washington, D.C., on January 16, 1921. He is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown.

Important Patents Pollok & Bailey Handled

Pollok & Bailey helped many inventors get patents for their new ideas. Here are some of the important patents they worked on, especially for Alexander Graham Bell:

• U.S. Patent 363,320  This patent was issued on May 17, 1887. It was a basic patent for a way of joining metals called arc welding.
• U.S. Patent 161,739  This was a Bell patent filed in March 1875. It was about making improvements to how electric telegraphs send and receive messages.
• U.S. Patent 174,465  This was Bell's very first telephone patent! It was filed on February 14, 1876, and issued on March 7, 1876. This patent was super important for the invention of the telephone.
• U.S. Patent 178,399  Another Bell patent, filed in April 1876. It was about improving how telephone receivers work.
• U.S. Patent 181,553  This Bell patent was filed and issued in August 1876. It focused on how to create electric currents.
• U.S. Patent 186,787  This Bell patent was filed on January 15, 1877, and issued on January 30, 1877. It was about electric telegraphy.