Matt3114
#1In the past I was a staff writer for a publication called Police Collector News, where articles I had written about early police equipment and inventors and suppliers of that equipment, were published. Below is an extract from one of those articles. If any of you find this type of information of interest I would be happy to contribute more like this, but please respond to me so I can tell if there is enough interest for me to post future items.
George Porter Houston was born on September 12, 1837 in Lancaster, PA and was a resident of Washington, DC when issued patent 169,443 for a handcuff on November 2, 1875. His design for a "bar" handcuff was not unlike that of a Lilly Iron in that the cuffs were connected by a rigid bar. The fact that his wife was a clerk in the United States Patent Office might have encouraged him to file for a patent. Houston was a career military officer. He was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served in the Civil War. In 1885 he was assigned to the Marine barracks in Washington. The Marine Band was housed there and one of his subordinates wrote a march and dedicated it to Houston. It was called Sound Off, and yes, the subordinate was John Phillip Sousa.
Matt
George Porter Houston was born on September 12, 1837 in Lancaster, PA and was a resident of Washington, DC when issued patent 169,443 for a handcuff on November 2, 1875. His design for a "bar" handcuff was not unlike that of a Lilly Iron in that the cuffs were connected by a rigid bar. The fact that his wife was a clerk in the United States Patent Office might have encouraged him to file for a patent. Houston was a career military officer. He was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and served in the Civil War. In 1885 he was assigned to the Marine barracks in Washington. The Marine Band was housed there and one of his subordinates wrote a march and dedicated it to Houston. It was called Sound Off, and yes, the subordinate was John Phillip Sousa.
Matt