one might as well think of the origin of matter.
In 1835 the French philosopher Auguste Comte predicted that we would never know anything about the chemical composition of stars.
Charles H. Duell was the Commissioner of US patent office in 1899. Mr. Deull’s most famous attributed utterance is that “everything that can be invented has been invented.”
In 1898, he was appointed as the United States Commissioner of Patents, and held that post until 1901. In that role, he is famous for purportedly saying "Everything that can be invented has been invented."[2] However, this has been debunked as apocryphal by librarian Samuel Sass[3] who traced the quote back to 1981 book titled "The Book of Facts and Fallacies" by Chris Morgan and David Langford.[4]
In fact, Duell said in 1902:
In my opinion, all previous advances in the various lines of invention will appear totally insignificant when compared with those which the present century will witness. I almost wish that I might live my life over again to see the wonders which are at the threshold.[5]
Another possible origin of this famous statement may actually be found in a report to Congress in 1843 by an earlier Patent Office Commissioner, Henry Ellsworth. In it Ellsworth states, "The advancement of the arts, from year to year, taxes our credulity and seems to presage the arrival of that period when human improvement must end." This quote was apparently then mispresented and attributed to Duell, who held the same office in 1899.[6]
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you see? ...
And in fact the suggested origin of this canard in Ellsworth's quoted statement is a disservice to him as well. In fact, he's wondering out loud how long this incredible rate of advancement can persist.