In 1859, Ms. B Franklin Coston was issued the first patent related to a fireworks display. While fireworks originated and were well-known in China, Ms. Franklin invented a “Method of Signalizing Any Numeral or Combination of Numerals by the Display of Different Pyrotechnic Fires.” The patent details the successive exhibitions of fires of three different colors, those colors unsurprisingly being red, white, and blue. Decades later, The Walt Disney Company patented a “Precision fireworks display system having a decreased environmental impact.” Disney’s invention involves a launching device and an electronic control system capable of causing the projectile to explode mid-air into a firework display after a predetermined time period. This invention explains how Disney can set off explosions to approximate Mickey Mouse’s famous silhouette.
