Goodwin Brooke Smith

Goodwin Brooke Smith was an American author born in 1870. The clearest confirmed details available here come from library-style records and public-domain editions of his work, which identify him as the author of How to Succeed as an Inventor and date him as born in 1870.

Published in 1909, How to Succeed as an Inventor is a practical handbook about patents, market needs, and the hard work of developing ideas into saleable inventions. Its lasting appeal comes from its straightforward tone: instead of romanticizing genius, it encourages readers to study real problems, test ideas carefully, and think about how invention meets everyday demand.

Biographical information on Smith appears to be scarce, so it is safest to remember him through the book itself. Surviving records suggest he died in 1929, and his reputation today rests mainly on this concise, business-minded contribution to early modern invention writing.