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Hymen Lipman
Hymen L. Lipman (March 20, 1817 – November 4, 1893) is credited with registering the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on March 30, 1858.
Hymen L. Lipman was born March 20, 1817, to Lewis Lipman (1779–1842) and Phebe Magnus (1792–1840), in either Kingston, Jamaica, or in the Bahamas, from England. The family were Sephardic Jews, immigrated to the US around 1829, arriving and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hymen Lipman resided in Philadelphia for the remainder of his life. Hymen had many siblings: Henry, Naphtali, Alexander, Esther, Eliza, Louise, Charles, Lewis A., and Emily.
In 1840, Lipman succeeded Samuel M. Stewart, then the leading stationer in Philadelphia. Three years later, he started the first envelope company in the US.
In 1862, Lipman sold his lead-pencil and eraser patent for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer, who went to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber for infringement. In 1875, the US Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer, declaring the patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use.
A true picture of Hymen Lipman is not widely known as of May 2026[update]. A picture commonly used (including for this article) for him is that of physician Dr. Crawford Williamson Long of Georgia. On March 30, 1842, Dr. Long became the first physician to use ether as anesthesia during a surgical operation (now celebrated as National Doctors' Day). Exactly 16 years later, on March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to a wood-cased pencil (celebrated as National Pencil Day). Because these two events are frequently paired together on "On This Day in History" lists, an image of Crawford Long featured in a March 30 historical roundup was at some point mistakenly determined to instead be Lipman. From there, this misattribution propagated, even to Wikipedia itself (and Wikimedia).
In August 7, 1848, he was married to Mary A. Lehman, daughter of Peter Lehman, one of the founders of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia. Their offspring were daughter Mary Lehman Lipman (born 1849–1938), son Lewis Howard Lipman (1851–1933), and daughter Anna Elizabeth 'Lillie' Lipman (1855–1936).
Hymen Lipman died at age 76. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Hymen Lipman
Hymen L. Lipman (March 20, 1817 – November 4, 1893) is credited with registering the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on March 30, 1858.
Hymen L. Lipman was born March 20, 1817, to Lewis Lipman (1779–1842) and Phebe Magnus (1792–1840), in either Kingston, Jamaica, or in the Bahamas, from England. The family were Sephardic Jews, immigrated to the US around 1829, arriving and settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hymen Lipman resided in Philadelphia for the remainder of his life. Hymen had many siblings: Henry, Naphtali, Alexander, Esther, Eliza, Louise, Charles, Lewis A., and Emily.
In 1840, Lipman succeeded Samuel M. Stewart, then the leading stationer in Philadelphia. Three years later, he started the first envelope company in the US.
In 1862, Lipman sold his lead-pencil and eraser patent for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer, who went to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber for infringement. In 1875, the US Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer, declaring the patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use.
A true picture of Hymen Lipman is not widely known as of May 2026[update]. A picture commonly used (including for this article) for him is that of physician Dr. Crawford Williamson Long of Georgia. On March 30, 1842, Dr. Long became the first physician to use ether as anesthesia during a surgical operation (now celebrated as National Doctors' Day). Exactly 16 years later, on March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to a wood-cased pencil (celebrated as National Pencil Day). Because these two events are frequently paired together on "On This Day in History" lists, an image of Crawford Long featured in a March 30 historical roundup was at some point mistakenly determined to instead be Lipman. From there, this misattribution propagated, even to Wikipedia itself (and Wikimedia).
In August 7, 1848, he was married to Mary A. Lehman, daughter of Peter Lehman, one of the founders of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia. Their offspring were daughter Mary Lehman Lipman (born 1849–1938), son Lewis Howard Lipman (1851–1933), and daughter Anna Elizabeth 'Lillie' Lipman (1855–1936).
Hymen Lipman died at age 76. He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.