Install the appropriate date search and/or patent number search bookmarklet(s) for your browser.
Highlight a date or patent number on any internet page and then press the bookmarklet in your tool bar.
The bookmarket will submit a date or patent number search at datamp.org! If nothing is highlighted
you will be prompted for the date or patent number.
Try it out here by highlighting this date: JAN 25 1887 and then press
the date bookmarklet in your toolbar. Check out the patent number search by highlighting this patent number: 685,890
and clicking on the pn search bookmarklet. The date can be in any of a number of different formats as
explained here.
For more information on bookmarkets check out Wikipedia.org ,
The LibraryLookup Project
(the first bookmarket I came across- very useful) and
http://www.imilly.com/bm.htm
(this link explains how to install bookmarklets in Internet Explorer.) On some browsers you can simply drag the bookmarklet to the toolbar.