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Move over Zuck, Abraham Lincoln filed a patent for Facebook in 1845

230 points| daegloe | 14 years ago |thenextweb.com

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[+] micahgoulart|14 years ago|reply
I don't believe this, not for a second.

Too much fluff writing and not enough specifics, details or high res images of the "Springfield Gazette" along with lack of links to the patent application and so on.

Too many red flags. Lincoln is one of the most studied men in history. Everything in Lincoln's life has been pored over meticulously and thousands of books have been written about his life.

If this story were true, you'd have heard of it before. Remember, just finding a signature of his is worth thousands. The Smithsonian would have published this story a long time ago if there were any truth to it.

Seems like it's just an experiment in fiction by a blogger who fancies himself a writer.

[+] Kevin_Marks|14 years ago|reply
I contacted the curator at the Lincoln Museum by email. His reponse:

This is entirely a hoax. Clever, too. We have an official stastement to that effect due within the hour. -James

James M. Cornelius, Ph.D. Curator, Lincoln Collection Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum 112 N. Sixth St. Springfield, IL 62701-1310 217.785.7954 http://www.alplm.org

[+] waterlesscloud|14 years ago|reply
It's a great hoax. On the edge of plausibility, with several related verifiable facts that make it seem allllmost possible. Toss that in with the I Want To Believe syndrome, and it's bound to spread.

Well done.

[+] ctdonath|14 years ago|reply
Links back to a blog post wherein P.T.Barnum and his "there's a sucker born every minute" line is discussed, but no hint of the number or other identification/content for the alleged patent application[1] is. Intriguing, but dubious.

[1] - ETA.

[+] ChuckMcM|14 years ago|reply
Its probably a hoax, its too close not to be, but when I saw the preview for the movie "Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter" I thought, now that is not a combination I would expect, and of course "Abraham Lincoln - Patent Troll" would be equally unexpected. However, if you were doing a work of fiction you would have the descendents of Abe, who had slowly, patiently, keep the application alive in the patent office for over 167 years by tweaking the wording, a modest change there, only to have it issue in 2012 just before Facebook goes public.

Ok, its more like a National Treasure plot but still.

[+] anigbrowl|14 years ago|reply
One could always contact the Lincoln Museum. Lincoln might have prepared the application but not filed it.
[+] adventureful|14 years ago|reply
Can't find a single mention of the Springfield Gazette in relation to Lincoln via Google, or at the Lincoln Museum site. Also can't find any evidence in searching, that the Springfield Gazette has ever existed. Certainly is suspicious.
[+] reitzensteinm|14 years ago|reply
That's ridiculous. If Abraham Lincoln was the inventor of Facebook, he would have invented Facebook.
[+] Drbble|14 years ago|reply
Where did this meme originate?
[+] thechut|14 years ago|reply
If this is real, which various other people have raised question to. Could it count as prior art in a reexamination [1] of some of the Yahoo patents that Yahoo is using to sue Facebook? [2] Specifically the "social network patent", which is apparently a patent for "World modeling using a relationship network with communication channels to entities"[3].

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reexamination 2: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/03/yahoo-patent... 3: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sec...

[+] swombat|14 years ago|reply
The really interesting question (which no doubt some people will think is easily answered as "no one") is, who invented this even earlier than Lincoln?

To reuse Thomas Mann's metaphor, history is like a set of coulisses, walls sliding away to reveal something else behind. Every time you think you've found the bottom of the well, something slides out and reveals another bottomless chasm further on. So it is with ideas.

[+] chernevik|14 years ago|reply
Interestingly, the Civil War started because Jefferson Davis was dissatisfied with the implementation of the opt-out clause in the Terms of Service.
[+] CodeCube|14 years ago|reply
The ironic part, is that if this does turn out to be false, it will continue to be reshared on facebook as fact for years to come
[+] wittgenstein|14 years ago|reply
Seriously, why do titles like this make it to the top of HN?

Yeah, Lincoln totally outpwned Zuck, because the idea of a place to give updates about your life is so mind-boggling, and that idea itself is why Zuck is rich.

[+] squozzer|14 years ago|reply
He probably wanted people to know about the Vampire Scourge and his efforts to eradicate vampires.
[+] sp332|14 years ago|reply
Why the focus on Facebook? No one claims that Zuckerberg invented social networking sites.
[+] aqme28|14 years ago|reply
Abraham Lincoln Patents Friendster in 1845 somehow doesn't sound quite as interesting or impressive.
[+] h2s|14 years ago|reply
Are you people nuts? This is more fake than a /b/ green text spaghetti story.
[+] its_so_on|14 years ago|reply
I skimmed until He went on to propose that "each Man may decide if he shall make his page Available to the entire Town, or only to those with whom he has established Family or Friendship."

at which point I stopped to come here and tell you that if this quote - or, indeed any part of this story - is genuine I promise to upload a youtube video of me eating my top hat.

also, I just noticed, but ye "olde Caps" were for Nouns. nice Try though...