Johan vaaler

science and mathematics, invented the paperclip in 1899. He received

a patent for his design from Germany in 1899, since Norway had no patent laws at that time. Johan Vaaler was an employee at a local invention office when he invented the paperclip. He received an American patent in 1901 -- patent abstract "It consists of forming same of a spring material, such as a piece of wire, that is bent to a rectangular, triangular, or otherwise shaped hoop, the end parts of which wire piece form members or tongues lying side by side in contrary directions." Johan Vaaler was the first person to patent a paperclip design, although other unpatented designs might have existed first.

early as the 13th century, when people put ribbon through

parallel incisions in the upper left hand corner of pages. Later people started to wax the ribbons to make them stronger and easier to undo and redo. This was the way people clipped papers together for the next six hundred years.
In 1835, a New York physician named John Ireland Howe invented a machine for mass producing straight pins. Straight pins then became a popular way to fasten papers together, although they were not originally designed for that purpose. Straight pins were designed to be used in sewing and tailoring, to temporally fasten cloth together.