Elijah Bond


Elijah Jefferson Bond was an American lawyer and inventor. He is most known for inventing the ouija board.

Inventions

Although he invented and patented items, including a steam boiler, he is best remembered for patenting what became known as the Ouija board. He filed for a United States patent on May 28, 1890. Charles W. Kennard and William H. A. Maupin were listed as assignees. The patent was granted on February 10, 1891. Bond sold the US distribution rights for the Ouija board to the Kennard Novelty Company.
By 1907 Bond had relocated to West Virginia where he established the Swastika Novelty Company. The company produced a knock-off of Bond's original Ouija board called the "Nirvana".

Death

Bond died at age 74, and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland's Green Mount Cemetery, beneath a marker that resembles an Ouija board.