George Selden was a patent attorney. In 1870 hoof and mouth disease disables most of the horses used by the Rochester Street Railway. This encourages his interests in mechanics, he files for a patent on a compression gas engine in 1879 that is granted in 1895. He is unable to attract investors in his ideas, but he eventually does build a Selden Automobile. Henry Ford takes him to court saying his patent is for a basic device that would give him a monopoly over the entire automobile industry. Selden's engine patent is disallowed, and he is forced out of the automobile business.