Elijah Bond
Elijah J. Bond (born. c. 1847[1]) was an American lawyer and inventor.
Elijah J. Bond was born in 1847 to William B. and Charlotte Bond in Maryland.[2] His father was a lawyer and in 1845 was the Deputy Attorney General of Harford Co., Maryland.[3] Elijah would follow in his father's footasteps and become a lawyer too.[4]
Although he invented and patented many types of items including a steam boiler, he is best remembered for inventing what became known as a Ouija Board. He invented the board in 1889 and filed for a United States patent on May 28, 1890. Charles W. Kennard and William H. A. Maupin were listed as assignees. The patent was granted on February 10, 1891.
By 1907 Bond had relocated his toy production company to West Virginia and there is evidence that he produced a game called Nirvana which he received a United States patent for on June 18, 1907. The "toy" incorporated a swastika as its logo and he even called his company The Swastika Novelty Company.
Notes
Sources
- The Ouija Board:A Doorway to the Occult, Edmund C. Gruss, P & R Publishing, 1994.
