What did Hymen Lipman do that made life easier for students?

Hymen L. Lipman was born March 20, 1817, in Kingston, Jamaica, to English parents. He arrived in Philadelphia around 1829. In 1843, he started the first envelope company in the United States.

On March 30, 1858, Lipman was granted a patent for creating the first wood- cased pencil with an attached rubber eraser. Later, the patent was purchased by Joseph Reckendorfer for $100,000.

Reckendorfer immediately filed a lawsuit against German pencil manufacturer Faber for patent infringement. In 1875, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Reckendorfer ruling his patent invalid because his invention was actually a combination of two already known things with no new use. Lipman kept his $100,000 and Reckendorfer was left with nothing.

It took nearly 60 years for Hymen Lipman's invention to become a hit but because of the Supreme Court decision, no royalties were ever paid.