[Ads-l] Antedating of "Rocket" (Modern Sense)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Following Fred’s lead:
Below are two patent applications from Robert H. Goddard for a Rocket
Apparatus. The first patent application has a filing date of Oct 1,
1913, and appeared in the Gazette on July 7, 1914.

The second patent application has a filing date of May 15, 1914, and
appeared in the Gazette on July 14, 1914.

The OED lists different senses for rocket, n.5 I. The distinctions are
complicated and somewhat technical (to me). I do not fully understand
the different senses listed under 1, 2, and 3 in the OED. So someone
else will have to examine these early rocket designs from Robert H.
Goddard.

Date: July 7, 1914
Periodical: Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
Publisher: Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

https://books.google.com/books?id=sHQbAQAAMAAJ&q=rocket#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt - double check for typos]
1,102,653 ROCKET APPARATUS ROBERT H GODDARD
Worcester, Mass. Filed Oct. 1, 1913. Serial No.
792,707 (Cl. 102-2.)

1. In a rocket apparatus, in combination, a primary rocket, comprising
a combustion chamber and a firing tube, a secondary rocket mounted in
said firing tube, and means for firing said secondary rocket when the
explosive in the primary rocket is substantially consumed.

2. In a rocket apparatus, in combination, a combustion chamber
containing an explosive and a rearwardly extended tapered tube
connected with said chamber through which the gaseous products of
combustion are discharged, said tube being in the form of a truncated
cone of slight taper and having its length equal to not less than
three times its longest diameter.
[End excerpt]

Date: July 14, 1914
Periodical: Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office
Publisher: Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.

https://books.google.com/books?id=sHQbAQAAMAAJ&q=rocket#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt - double check for typos]
1,103,503. ROCKET APPARATUS. ROBERT H. GODDARD,
Worcester, Mass. Filed May 15, 1914. Serial No.
838,707, (C1. 102-23.)

1. A rocket apparatus having, in combination, a combustion chamber, a
casing containing a supply of combustible material, and means for
successively feeding portions of said material to said combustion
chamber.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sat, Sep 24, 2022 at 3:02 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
> rocket (OED, n.5, 2. or 3., 1919)
>
> 1916 _Fitchburg Sentinel_ (Fitchburg, Mass.) 21 July 4/5 (Newspapers.com)  The following patents were granted to Worcester county inventors, Tuesday, July 18 ... Robert H. Goddard, Worcester, rocket-apparatus.
>
> NOTE: Presumably the term appeared earlier in the 1916 patent itself, and it may well have appeared in pre-1916 Goddard patents.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org