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The answer to your question is not as straightforward as you might expect. The United States Patent Office was established in 1790. The very first patent was issued July 31 of that year to one Samuel Hopkins. Hopkins, whose exact identity has been questioned, patented a process for making potash and pearl ash, types of potassium compounds used to make soap and fertilizer. The patent was signed by President George Washington and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Although this was the first patent issued, it wasn't patent number 1. Why not, you ask? Prior to the Patent Act of July 4, 1836, patents were issued by name and date rather than number. The Patent Office had already issued nearly 10,000 patents, when a fire destroyed many of the original records in December of 1836. Using private files, the office was able to restore 2,845 patents. The restored records were issued a number beginning with an "X" and called the "X-Patents." Thus the first patent ever issued was actually designated patent X1. The patents that could not be restored were cancelled. Patent 1, the first patent issued under the new numbering system, went to Senator John Ruggles of
Thomaston, Maine. His invention, patented July 13, 1836, was a cog mechanism for locomotive wheels. It was designed to give "multiplied tractive power to the locomotive and to prevent the evil of the sliding of the wheels..." To sneak a look at both patent 1 and patent X1, head to the web site of the United State Patent and Trademark Office. There you can search the patent database to get a look at a number of groundbreaking inventions.
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