Editing Thomas Jefferson (section)

===Inventions===
Jefferson invented many small practical devices and improved contemporary inventions, including a revolving book-stand and a "Great Clock" powered by the gravitational pull on cannonballs. He improved the [[pedometer]], the [[polygraph (duplicating device)|polygraph]] (a device for duplicating writing),<ref>[[#cipher|Univ. Virginia archives]]</ref> and the [[moldboard plow]], an idea he never patented and gave to posterity.<ref>[[#Malone62|Malone, 1962]], pp. 213–215.</ref> Jefferson can also be credited as the creator of the [[swivel chair#Origin|swivel chair]], the first of which he created and used to write much of the Declaration of Independence.<ref>[[#Kaplan|Kaplan, 1993]], p. 315.</ref> He first opposed patents but later supported them. From 1790 to 1793, as Secretary of State, he was the ''ex officio'' head of the three-person patent review board. He drafted reforms of US patent law which led to him being relieved of this duty in 1793, and also drastically changed the patent system.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Martin |first1=Russell L. |title=Patents |url=https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/patents/ |publisher=Thomas Jefferson Foundation |access-date=September 20, 2022 |date=April 1989|encyclopedia=Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia}}; source also links to two related 21st-century sources</ref>

As Minister to France, Jefferson was impressed by the military standardization program known as the ''[[Gribeauval system|Système Gribeauval]]'', and initiated a program as president to develop [[interchangeable parts]] for firearms. For his inventiveness and ingenuity, Jefferson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree from [[Harvard University]] in 1787.<ref>[[#Peterson70|Peterson, 1970]], pp. 335–336.</ref>