On 12 January 1886, Lewis H. Latimer received US Patent No. 334,078 for an “Apparatus for cooling and disinfecting”. Often described as a precursor to air conditioning, it pointed toward a future where indoor air could be cooled and made healthier at the same time.
On 12 January 1932, Siemens-Schuckertwerke secured German Patent No. 567 906 for Wilhelm Klement’s plug and socket concept that became Schuko, a design that most people recognise instantly but rarely think about.
On 10 January 1934, German Patent No. 590 783 was granted to Albert Einstein and Rudolf Goldschmidt for an apparatus for sound reproduction devices.
On 9 January 1980, the European Patent Office announced the first grants of European patents in the European Patent Bulletin 1980/01.
On 9 January 1931, Thomas Edison filed his final patent application, baased on an earlier application filed in 1926. It was granted posthumously on 16 May 1933, as US Patent No. 1,908,830 for a “Holder for article to be electroplated”.