U. S. Plant patent 1. Climbing or trailing rose. Filed Aug. 6, 1930. Issued Aug. 18, 1931.

This was the first patent granted for a life form. In response to complaints from the nursery industry that the future of the plant breeding industry was jeopardized by the “pirating” of new plant varieties, President Herbert Hoover signed The Plant Patent Act into law on 23 May 1930. Bosenberg's patent consists of a single black & white drawing of the rose plus one page of claims.

Digital facsimile from Google Patents at this link.

(Thanks to John F. Kuenzig for this reference.)