Patent model
On July 31, 1790 inventor Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford, Vermont became the first person to be issued a patent in the United States. His patented invention was an improvement in the "making of Pot Ash by a new apparatus & process." These earliest patent law required that a working model of each invention be produced in miniature.
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest
In addition to inventing the sawmill, Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest also held various other mill-related patents, including an early version of a centrifugal pump. He was not the first Dutchman to be granted a patent for a windmill. Cornelis Dircksz Muys, an engineer of Delft, was granted a patent for a small windmill in 1589. He later became known for his patent of a small dredger mill on a raft that was successful until the introduction of the steam engine. The first patent registered altogether was in 1584 by Simon Stevin for an unspecified form of water mill (probably to pump water out of a polder). Stevin's later patents were all based on mill technology, and he described his requests with mathematical explanations. He was granted nine patents in 1589, including one for the ""molengang"", which enabled the use of a stepped series of water mills to be used for creating polders. It was this invention that enabled the creation of the Beemster. Cornelisz van Uitgeest probably knew both of these men personally and he certainly knew their work.