March 20 in Technology History: Standards, Patents and Breakthroughs
March 20 has produced notable milestones in patents, networking, software standards, web platform development, aerospace engineering, industrial standardization, and modern computing. Below is a curated chronological selection of technology-related events connected to this date.
1883
On 20 March, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed, creating a foundational international framework for patents, trademarks, and industrial designs and establishing principles such as national treatment and priority rights for applicants.
1883
On 20 March, Jan Ernst Matzeliger received US Patent 274,207 for a lasting-machine concept that mechanized a key shoemaking step, enabling faster, more consistent shoe production and helping industrialize footwear manufacturing in the late 19th century.
1883
On 20 March, Thomas Edison’s US Patent 274,290 for a system of electrical distribution was granted, reflecting early architectures for delivering electric power to many loads and contributing to the technical and commercial evolution of centralized electric lighting networks.