PROCLAMATION 7581-JULY 29, 2002 116 STAT. 3285 assist parents by reaching out to help meet the needs of young people in their communities. By working together to provide for our children, we will show them the way to a brighter future. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States and consistent with Public Law 103-362, as amended, do hereby proclaim Sunday, July 28, 2002, as Parents' Day. I encourage all Americans to join me in honoring the millions of mothers and fathers, biological and adoptive, foster parents, and stepparents, whose selfless love and determined efforts influence lives for the good of their children and our Nation. I also urge all Americans to express their love, respect, and appreciation to our parents, and I call upon all citizens to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty- sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh. GEORGE W. BUSH Proclamation 7581 of July 29, 2002 The Bicentennial of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2002 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation For two centuries, the United States Patent Office has played a vital role in the scientific, technical, and economic development of our Nation by granting inventors patents for their inventions. As Abraham Lincoln once stated, patents "added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius." The first Patent Act of the United States was signed into law by President George Washington on April 10, 1790. Under this legislation, patent applicants petitioned the Secretary of State for the grant of a patent. The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of War and the Attorney General, determined whether the invention or discovery was "sufficiently useful and important." At that time, both the President and the Secretary of State signed patents. As the number of applications for patents grew, it became necessary to develop an organized review process to handle the increasing volume. In 1793, the law was changed to eliminate examinations, and the job of receiving and granting patents was given to clerks in the Department of State. On June 1, 1802, the Secretary of State appointed Dr. William Thornton to serve as the first clerk at the Department of State. In that position. Dr. Thornton was solely responsible for receiving and recording patent applications and issuing patents, and his office effectively became the first patent office. From this simple beginning, the Patent Of-
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