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Charles Michael Higgins

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Charles Michael Higgins

Birth
County Leitrim, Ireland
Death
21 Oct 1929 (aged 75)
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA
Burial
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA GPS-Latitude: 40.6572376, Longitude: -73.9892777
Plot
Lot 23554 Section G
Memorial ID
View Source
Charles was born in Leitram, Ireland in 1854. He moved to America in 1860, and received a patent for a screw pegging machine in 1875. He obtained a job with the Scientific News as a patent solicitor and reportedly made experiments with inks in his sister's kitchen in New York. Here he is said to have invented the Higgins India Ink and his Eternal Black Ink. In 1880 he formed a company to sell and distribute the ink. The ink soon became the universal one used around the world. The business was hugely successful and was ultimately purchased by Sanford Ink, who owns it today.

Higgins purchased the lots here on the highest point on Battle Hill for his family burial and to commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn. The bronze statue of Minerva and the Altar of Liberty were unveiled in 1920 to commemorate the 144th anniversary of the Revolutionary War battle. Minerva gazes directly at and salutes the Statue of Liberty, 3.5 miles to the west in the harbor, as intended. You can see more photos at Alexandrina Higgins

Charles was born in Leitram, Ireland in 1854. He moved to America in 1860, and received a patent for a screw pegging machine in 1875. He obtained a job with the Scientific News as a patent solicitor and reportedly made experiments with inks in his sister's kitchen in New York. Here he is said to have invented the Higgins India Ink and his Eternal Black Ink. In 1880 he formed a company to sell and distribute the ink. The ink soon became the universal one used around the world. The business was hugely successful and was ultimately purchased by Sanford Ink, who owns it today.

Higgins purchased the lots here on the highest point on Battle Hill for his family burial and to commemorate the Battle of Brooklyn. The bronze statue of Minerva and the Altar of Liberty were unveiled in 1920 to commemorate the 144th anniversary of the Revolutionary War battle. Minerva gazes directly at and salutes the Statue of Liberty, 3.5 miles to the west in the harbor, as intended. You can see more photos at Alexandrina Higgins


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The inventor of India Ink.



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