In 1914, the first U.S. patent for a liquid-fueled rocket design, titled “Rocket Apparatus” was granted to Dr Robert Goddard, (U.S. No. 1,103,503). It described a combustion chamber, with expander nozzle, into which liquid fuels are pumped. At age 31, this was his second rocket patent. A week earlier, on 7 Jul 1914, his first patent, also for a “Rocket Apparatus” was issued. (U.S. No. 1,102,653) which described the multi-stage rocket concept. On 16 Mar 1926, his test launch, the first ever of a liquid-fuelled rocket, managed to propel a 10-ft long projectile to a height of 41-ft (12.5 m). Its 2.5 second flight covered a distance of 184-ft at an average speed of 60-mph. The fuel was a combination of liquid oxygen and gasoline.« Rocket Man: Robert H. Goddard and the Birth of the Space Age, by David A. Clary. - book suggestion.