In Paris, French instrument-maker of German origin Sébastien Érard (Sébastien Erhard) invents the “double-escapement” action: as the action propels the hammer toward the string, the hammer is ready to be thrown again, while the key is still coming up. Forty years later, on May 21, 1861, Henry Steinway, Jr. will receive a US patent #32,386 to a new mechanism, allowing for major improvements over Sébastien Érard’s invention.