who invented the paperclip

The paperclip is believed to have been invented by Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor, in 1899. He patented a paperclip design in Germany that year and later in the United States in 1901. However, Vaaler's design was less functional than the modern paperclip design and was never widely marketed or manufactured. Before Vaaler, Samuel B. Fay received the first patent related to a paper-fastening device in 1867 in the United States, but his design differed significantly from today's paperclip. The modern paperclip, usually called the "Gem" paperclip, was never patented but was produced by the Gem Manufacturing Company in Britain as early as the 1870s and became the globally popular design for holding papers together.