Age of Great Inventions Statistics
By the Numbers
Utility (Invention) Patents Awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- 1865: 6,099
- 1880: 12,926
- 1900: 24,656
- Patents held by Thomas Edison: 1,093
Montgomery Ward & Co.
- Startup capital used to found Montgomery Ward & Co. mail order retailer in 1872: $1,600
- Annual sales for Montgomery Ward & Co. in 1888: $1 million2
American Telephone Subscribers
- 1880: 48,000
- 1900: 800,0003
Global Ranking of U.S. Manufacturing Output
- 1870: 4th
- 1900: 1st
Percentage of Americans Living in Cities
- 1870: 25%
- 1900: 40%
U.S. Population
- Total U.S. population in 1890: 63 million
- Urban population: 22 million