What happened to the original 1828 asbestos patent?

It was destroyed in the Patent Office fire of 1836. 9,957 patents burned. The inventor's name, patent details, design specifications — everything lost to fire. This is the ultimate irony: the first American patent for a fireproof mineral was destroyed by fire. We know asbestos insulation was patented in 1828 only because it's mentioned in 1840s correspondence. The patent itself exists nowhere.

Why were boiler explosions so common?

Industrial steam systems operated near maximum pressure with no safety regulation. The 1880s saw 159 documented explosions — a conservative count. By the 1890s, explosions numbered in the 2,000+ range. When boilers exploded, the surrounding metal became shrapnel. Thomas Reily, killed in 1853, wasn't killed by the explosion itself but by a piece of metal ejected from a distant boiler. Asbestos insulation promised to contain pressure and heat. It did work — trading acute explosion deaths for chronic exposure deaths decades later.

Is the Joseph Fecteau blueberry story true?

Almost certainly not. The narrative claims Fecteau discovered asbestos in Quebec in 1876 while picking blueberries and 'stumbling upon' it. This story appears only in company histories and promotional materials. The first documented reference to Fecteau picking asbestos appears in early 2000s sources. No contemporary record, no newspaper account, no business documentation confirms this origin story. What IS documented: asbestos was mined in Quebec starting around 1876. Who discovered it and how? That narrative was retrofitted generations later.

Who were the 'cobbers' in asbestos mining?

Children. Young workers — some as young as 8-10 years old — employed to hand-sort asbestos ore using hammers. 'Cobber' was the occupational term. They received no safety equipment, no medical monitoring, no occupational protection. Records of their wages, working hours, injury rates, or names simply do not exist. No union records, no employer documentation, no newspaper accounts. Meticulous production records tracked tonnes and money. Zero records tracked the workers. It's as if children appeared to do work and disappeared without trace.

How did Henry Ward Johns die?

Official records list 'dust phthisis pneumonitis' or respiratory failure. Founded H.W. Johns Manufacturing at age 21 in 1858, spent four decades manufacturing asbestos insulation, and died in 1898. His company went on to merge with Manville and became a major asbestos manufacturer. The founder killed by his own product — a fact that would have revealed what the company knew about asbestos hazards. This knowledge was suppressed. His death is mentioned nowhere in company marketing or history.

Who was Dr. Murray's patient in 1899?

A 33-year-old London textile worker with 14 years of asbestos exposure. Dr. William Murray performed an autopsy and documented his findings: heavy scarring in the lungs, asbestos fibers visibly embedded. What's remarkable: all 10 of the patient's coworkers from the textile mill were dead by age 30. This is the first documented medical case of asbestos-caused disease. It proves occupational asbestos hazards were already known to physicians by 1899. What workers knew? Almost nothing. The knowledge existed in professional circles. Workers were kept ignorant.

Episode 10: The Mines Open | Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making

The Mines Open

1828. First American patent for asbestos insulation — inventor unknown because the Patent Office burned down in 1836, destroying 9,957 patents. 1853. Thomas Reily killed by flying metal from a distant boiler explosion. Asbestos insulation became the solution — trading 159 explosions per year for chronic exposure deaths nobody could see coming. Joseph Fecteau discovered asbestos picking blueberries in Quebec (1876), but the narrative is completely unverifiable. Production exploded: 50 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes per year. Children called 'cobbers' hand-sorted ore. Henry Ward Johns founded a manufacturing empire at age 21, then died of probable asbestosis — the founder killed by his own product. Then Dr. Murray's 1899 patient: a 33-year-old textile worker with 14 years exposure, all 10 coworkers dead by age 30. Arc Three begins: everything changes.

What This Episode Covers

Arc Two ended with institutional science destroying a 4,500-year-old myth. Arc Three begins with 100 years compressed. Everything changes. In 1828, someone (nobody knows who) patented asbestos insulation in America. The Patent Office records burned in 1836. 9,957 patents destroyed. The first fireproof mineral's patent destroyed by fire — lost to the very thing it was designed to resist. But asbestos insulation was real, and industry needed it desperately.

The Industrial Revolution had a problem: steam. Boilers exploded. In 1880 alone, 159 documented explosions. By the 1890s, the count had climbed into the thousands. Thomas Reily, working near a boiler in 1853, was killed not by the explosion itself but by metal shrapnel ejected from a distant blast — a piece of boiler casing traveling fast enough to be lethal. Asbestos insulation wrapped those pipes and boilers. It worked. The explosions stopped. The acute, visible deaths ceased. And an invisible replacement began: chronic exposure. The trade happened without announcement or negotiation. Visible deaths for invisible ones. Acute for chronic. Immediate for delayed 20-50 years.

In Quebec, asbestos mining exploded. Joseph Fecteau supposedly discovered it picking blueberries in 1876 — a narrative that appears nowhere in contemporary records and only resurfaces in company histories decades later. Production scaled: 50 tonnes in 1878, 10,000 tonnes per year by the 1890s. Prices crashed from $128 per ton to $30 per ton. Children — 'cobbers,' hammering ore by hand — appear in no records. No wages, no names, no injury documentation, no union records. Adults weren't much better documented. Meticulous production records exist. Worker records: zero.

Henry Ward Johns founded H.W. Johns Manufacturing at 21 years old in 1858. Patent #76,773, filed 1868. By 1898, he was dead — official cause listed as 'dust phthisis pneumonitis.' Respiratory failure. The founder killed by his own product. The company merged with Manville, got bigger, and his death was never mentioned again. Then, in 1899, London physician William Murray performed an autopsy on a 33-year-old textile worker with 14 years of asbestos exposure. All 10 of the patient's coworkers were dead by age 30. Dr. Murray documented everything: heavy lung scarring, asbestos fibers embedded and visible. The first medical case of occupational asbestos disease. Medical knowledge existed. Workers never saw it.

Read the Full Transcript View on WikiMesothelioma

The complete episode transcript with citations, key facts, and additional context is available on WikiMesothelioma.com — our open educational resource for asbestos and mesothelioma information.

Why This Matters If You Were Exposed

The first trade — visible explosions for invisible chronic disease — happened at the structural level. Industry calculated the risk differently than workers experienced it. An explosion kills immediately, predictably, obviously. Everybody sees it. Asbestos exposure kills unpredictably, 20-50 years later, with a cause so buried in medical complexity that the connection becomes invisible to the exposed person. By the time symptoms appear, the source is decades old. The company that sold it is often gone. The worker who was exposed is sometimes dead from other causes before the asbestos disease appears.

The documentary void makes this worse. While manufacturers kept meticulous production records (tonnes, revenue, equipment), they kept no worker records. If you were a 'cobber' in Quebec in 1880, there is no surviving documentation of your existence. No wage records, no hours, no names, no injury reports. Mesothelioma has a 20-50 year latency period. Someone exposed in 1960 might get diagnosed in 2010. They will search for documentation of their exposure — and find nothing. No medical records from the exposure period (occupational health monitoring didn't exist), no employment records (companies destroyed them or never kept them), no union documentation (workers couldn't unionize until much later). The evidence of exposure exists nowhere.

This is why trust funds were created. Over $30 billion remains in asbestos trust funds — money set aside precisely because the ordinary evidentiary chain failed. You can't sue if you have no documentation. You can't prove exposure if the records were never kept. The legal system had to create a separate mechanism: trusts that compensate people whose exposure can no longer be documented. This episode is about the structural gap between what industry knew, what workers knew, and what was documented. Everything hinges on that gap.

10,000 Tonnes Per Year

Quebec asbestos production by the 1890s — a 200x increase in just 15 years (1878-1890s). Prices crashed from $128 to $30 per ton. Zero corresponding increase in worker safety documentation or occupational health records.

The Timeline: From Patent Loss to First Medical Documentation

Year	What Happened	Documentary Status
1828	First American patent granted for asbestos insulation; inventor unknown	Patent office records burned in 1836; inventor identity lost forever
1836 Jun 24	Patent Office fire destroys 9,957 patents across all industries	Documentation destroyed; 1828 asbestos patent among the losses
1840s	Asbestos insulation mentioned in industrial correspondence; only surviving reference to 1828 patent	Secondhand reference only; no direct documentation of original patent
1853	Thomas Reily killed by metal shrapnel from distant boiler explosion	Documented industrial fatality; explosion catalyst for insulation demand
1858	Henry Ward Johns founds H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company at age 21	Company records begin; no worker health records kept
1868	H.W. Johns patent #76,773 filed for asbestos insulation innovation	Patent office record preserved; Johns manufacturing builds business on patent
1876	Joseph Fecteau allegedly discovers asbestos in Quebec picking blueberries; narrative unverifiable	No contemporary documentation; story first appears in company histories (2000s era)
1878	Quebec asbestos production: 50 tonnes per year	Production records kept; worker documentation non-existent
1880	159 documented boiler explosions in U.S. industrial facilities	Insurance and safety records document acute deaths; asbestos insulation becomes essential
1890s	Quebec asbestos production: 10,000 tonnes per year; price crashes from $128 to $30 per ton	Production scaled 200x; worker safety documentation remains zero
1897	Viennese physician documents lung problems in asbestos workers	Medical professional knowledge begins; workers have no access to information
1898	Henry Ward Johns dies of 'dust phthisis pneumonitis' (respiratory failure)	Death documented; cause-effect relationship to asbestos exposure never publicized; company history omits it
1898	British factory inspectors document asbestos danger as 'easily demonstrated'	Regulatory professional knowledge documented; working populations remain ignorant
1899	Dr. William Murray performs autopsy on 33-year-old textile worker with 14 years asbestos exposure; all 10 coworkers dead by age 30	First documented medical case of occupational asbestos disease; heavy lung scarring, visible asbestos fibers

Year

What Happened

Documentary Status

1828

First American patent granted for asbestos insulation; inventor unknown

Patent office records burned in 1836; inventor identity lost forever

1836 Jun 24

Patent Office fire destroys 9,957 patents across all industries

Documentation destroyed; 1828 asbestos patent among the losses

1840s

Asbestos insulation mentioned in industrial correspondence; only surviving reference to 1828 patent

Secondhand reference only; no direct documentation of original patent

1853

Thomas Reily killed by metal shrapnel from distant boiler explosion

Documented industrial fatality; explosion catalyst for insulation demand

1858

Henry Ward Johns founds H.W. Johns Manufacturing Company at age 21

Company records begin; no worker health records kept

1868

H.W. Johns patent #76,773 filed for asbestos insulation innovation

Patent office record preserved; Johns manufacturing builds business on patent

1876

Joseph Fecteau allegedly discovers asbestos in Quebec picking blueberries; narrative unverifiable

No contemporary documentation; story first appears in company histories (2000s era)

1878

Quebec asbestos production: 50 tonnes per year

Production records kept; worker documentation non-existent

1880

159 documented boiler explosions in U.S. industrial facilities

Insurance and safety records document acute deaths; asbestos insulation becomes essential

1890s

Quebec asbestos production: 10,000 tonnes per year; price crashes from $128 to $30 per ton

Production scaled 200x; worker safety documentation remains zero

1897

Viennese physician documents lung problems in asbestos workers

Medical professional knowledge begins; workers have no access to information

1898

Henry Ward Johns dies of 'dust phthisis pneumonitis' (respiratory failure)

Death documented; cause-effect relationship to asbestos exposure never publicized; company history omits it

1898

British factory inspectors document asbestos danger as 'easily demonstrated'

Regulatory professional knowledge documented; working populations remain ignorant

1899

Dr. William Murray performs autopsy on 33-year-old textile worker with 14 years asbestos exposure; all 10 coworkers dead by age 30

First documented medical case of occupational asbestos disease; heavy lung scarring, visible asbestos fibers

About This Podcast

Asbestos: A Conspiracy 4,500 Years in the Making is a 52-episode documentary podcast tracing the complete history of asbestos — from 4700 BCE Finnish pottery to the 2024 EPA ban. Produced by Danziger & De Llano, LLP, the series reveals how ancient mythologies collided with industrial-scale exposure, how institutions legitimize scientific findings, and how information gets lost and replaced across centuries.

Arc Two concluded with Episode 09, tracing 4,500 years of mythological belief about asbestos. Arc Three now begins — the Industrial Revolution compresses everything into 100 years. 100 years that killed millions.

Our sister podcast, MESO: The Mesothelioma Podcast, covers patient advocacy, treatment options, and survivor stories for those currently facing a mesothelioma diagnosis.

The Mines Open

What This Episode Covers

Meet the Team Behind This Episode

Related Resources

Topics

Were You or a Loved One Exposed to Asbestos?

Key Takeaways

Why This Matters If You Were Exposed

The Timeline: From Patent Loss to First Medical Documentation

About This Podcast