← Back to the 365 Library
Contribution #62 of 365
Dr. George Franklin Grant
Inventor of the Oblate Palate and First Patent for a Wooden Golf Tee
1899
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Dentist and inventor Dr. George Franklin Grant invented and patented an improved prosthetic device known as the oblate palate for patients with cleft palate. In 1899, he received the first patent for a wooden golf tee, an overall patent distinction rather than a race-specific first.