Thomas Jennings was the first African American to receive a patent.. 

Thomas L. Jennings Dry Scouring technique created modern day dry cleaning. His patent made him a fortune for the time. Jennings was fortunate that he was a free man, and not a slave at the time of his invention. Besides all the other indignities and cruelties African American slaves had to face, they were also ineligible to hold a patent. Under the United States patent laws of 1793 a person must sign an oath or declaration stating that they were a citizen of the United States. While there were, apparently, provisions through which a slave could enjoy patent protection, the ability of a slave to seek out, receive and defend a patent was unlikely. Later, in 1858, the patent office changed the laws, stating that since slaves were not citizens, they could not hold a patent. Furthermore, the court said that the slave owner, not being the true inventor could not apply for a patent either.

 

The patent to Jennings generated considerable controversy during this period.  Slaves at this time could not patent their own inventions; their effort was the property of their master. This regulation dated back to the US patent laws of 1793.  The regulation was based on the legal presumption that "the master is the owner of the fruits of the labor of the slave both manual and intellectual.” Patent courts also held that slaves were not citizens and therefore could not own rights to their inventions. In 1861 patent rights were finally extended to slaves. 

 

Thomas Jennings, however, was a free man and thus was able to gain exclusive rights to his invention and profit from it.  Jennings was a passionate abolitionist who used the income from his invention to free the rest of his family from slavery and fund abolitionist causes. He served as assistant secretary of the First Annual Convention of the People of Color which met in Philadelphia in June 1831. 

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sisterthundershow/2014/02/11/thomas-jennings-was-the-first-african-american-to-receive-a-patent