John Kay

John Kay

John Kay- Biography In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, an improvement to looms that enabled weavers to weave faster. The original shuttle contained a bobbin on to which the weft yarn was wound. It was normally pushed from one side of the warp (weaving term for the series of yarns that extended lengthways in a loom) to the other side by hand. Large looms needed two weavers to throw the shuttle. The flying shuttle was thrown by a leaver that could be operated by one weaver. John Kay was the twelfth child of a farmer and born in Lancashire on July 16, 1704. In 1753, his home was attacked by textile workers who were angry that his inventions might take work away from them. Kay fled England for France where he died in poverty around 1780.

John Kay Invention- The Flying Shuttle

In one respect, the term is somewhat misleading, as the shuttle itself is only a component in a new system attached to the loom as part of the beater. A board called the "race" runs along the front of the beater, from side to side, forming a track on which the shuttle runs. At each end of the race, there is a box which catches the shuttle at the end of its journey, and which contains a mechanism for propelling the shuttle on its return trip. The shuttle itself has some subtle differences from the older form. The ends of the shuttle are bullet-shaped and metal-capped, and the shuttle generally has rollers to reduce friction. The weft thread is made to exit from the end rather than the side, and the thread is stored on a pirn to allow it to feed more easily. Finally, the flying shuttle is generally somewhat heavier, so as to have sufficient inertia to carry it all the way through the shed. In manual operation, a cord runs to each box from a handle held by the operator. To start the pick, the shed is opened as before; however, instead of throwing the shuttle, the operator jerks the cord for the box containing the shuttle. This causes the mechanism in the box to shoot the shuttle along the race to the other box; then the shed is closed and the beater is used to complete the pick as before. The operator does not need to touch the shuttle until it needs to be reloaded, so fabrics of great width can be woven; but more importantly, the movements needed are greatly reduced. Even more important was the fact that this mechanism could be automated and powered; all the operator needed to do was monitor the machine for failures and keep it supplied with pirns of weft thread.

How did it change the industry? Positive: By using a flying shuttle, a single weaver could produce a wide piece of cloth. The original shuttle contained a bobbin on to which the weft (weaving term for the crossways yarn) yarn was wound. It was normally pushed from one side of the warp (weaving term for the series of yarns that extended lengthways in a loom) to the other side by hand. Before the flying shuttle wide looms needed two or more weavers to throw the shuttle. The increase in production due to the flying shuttle exceeded the capacity of the spinning industry of the day, and prompted development of powered spinning machines. This innovation transformed the textile industry in Great Britain.

Negative: The flying shuttle itself produced a new source of injuries; if deflected from its path, it could be shot clear of the machine, potentially striking workers. Turn of the century injury reports abound with instances in which eyes were lost or other injuries sustained.

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Loom: A loom is a device used to weave cloth. Weft: Weaving term for the crossways yarn. pirn: a long, conical, one-ended, non-turning bobbin Innovation: something newly introduced.

James Hargreaves- Biography James Hargreaves was born near Blackburn in about 1720. Hargreaves received no formal education and was unable to read or write. He worked as a carpenter and weaver but had a strong interest in engineering. By the 1760s Hargreaves was living in the village of Stanhill and was one of the many weavers who owned his own spinning wheel and loom. It is claimed that one day his daughter Jenny accidentally knocked over the family spinning wheel. The spindle continued to revolve and it gave Hargreaves the idea that a whole line of spindles could be worked off one wheel. In 1764 Hargreaves built what became known as the Spinning-Jenny. The machine used eight spindles onto which the thread was spun from a corresponding set of rovings. By turning a single wheel, the operator could now spin eight threads at once. The thread that the machine produced was coarse and lacked strength, making it suitable only for the filling of weft, the threads woven across the warp. Originally Hargreaves produced the machine for family use but when he began to sell the machines, spinners from Lancashire, fearing the possibility of cheaper competition, marched on his house and destroyed his equipment. Hargreaves did not apply for a patent for his Spinning Jenny until 1770 and therefore others copied his ideas without paying him any money. Hargreaves moved to Nottingham where he erected a small spinningmill. Others began to make improvements to the Spinning-Jenny and the number of threads was increased from eight to eighty. By the time James Hargreaves died in 1778, over 20,000 Spinning-Jenny machines were being used in Britain.

James Hargreaves InventionThe Spinning Jenny

James Hargreaves InventionThe Spinning Jenny The original spinning jenny used eight spindles instead of the one found on the spinning wheel. A single wheel on the spinning jenny controlled eight spindles, which created a weave using eight threads spun from a corresponding set of rovings.

How did it change the industry? Positive: It created threads more efficiently by doing the work of 8 spindles instead of one. It allows the textile industry to increase production since there was a sufficient supply of thread to make clothing.

Negative: It eliminated many jobs of worker who would have spun the thread. Factories and businessman saw the Spinning Jenny as a cheaper and more efficient way of making thread instead of hiring individual workers.

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Spindles: a device to spin fibers into thread. Roving: is a long and narrow bundle of fiber. It is usually used to spin woolen yarn. Sufficient: enough, adequate

James Watt

James Watt- Biography James Watt, the eldest surviving child of eight children, five of whom died in infancy, of James Watt (1698–1782) and his wife, Agnes Muirhead (1703–1755), was born in Greenock on 19th January, 1736. His father was a successful merchant. At the age of nineteen he was sent to Glasgow to learn the trade of a mathematicalinstrument maker. After spending a year in London, Watt returned to Scotland in 1757 where he established his own instrument-making business. Watt soon developed a reputation as a high quality engineer. In 1763 Watt was sent a Newcomen steam engine to repair. While putting it back into working order, Watt discovered how he could make the engine more efficient. Watt worked on the idea for several months and eventually produced a steam engine that cooled the used steam in a condenser separate from the main cylinder. James Watt was not a wealthy man so he decided to seek a partner with money. James Watt was not a wealthy man so he asked John Roebuck to provide financial backing for the project. Roebuck agreed and the two men went into partnership. Roebuck held two-thirds of the original patent (9th January 1769) in return for discharging some of Watt's debts. Watt continued to experiment and in 1781 he produced a rotary-motion steam engine. Whereas his earlier machine, with its up-and-down pumping action, was ideal for draining mines, this new steam engine could be used to drive many different types of machinery. In 1755 Watt had been granted a patent by Parliament that prevented anybody else from making a steam-engine like the one he had developed. For the next twentyfive years, the Boulton & Watt Company had a virtual monopoly over the production of steam-engines. To justify this he compared his machine to a horse. Watt calculated that a horse exerted a pull of 180 lb., therefore, when he made a machine, he described its power in relation to a horse, i.e. "a 20 horse-power engine". Watt worked out how much each company saved by using his machine rather than a team of horses. James Watt died at Heathfield in Handsworth, Birmingham, on 25th August 1819 and was buried beside Matthew Boulton in St Mary's Church on 2nd September.

James Watt Invention- Steam Engine

It produced the steam in order to run the machines in the factories In attaching the separate condenser, he first attempted surface condensation; but this not succeeding well, he substituted the jet. Watt had to find a way to prevent the filling of the condenser with water. James Watt at first lead a pipe from the condenser to a depth greater than the height of a column of water which could be counterbalanced by the pressure of the atmosphere; subsequently he employed an air pump, which relieved the condenser of the water and air which collected in the condenser, and lessened the vacuum. He next substituted oil and tallow for the water used to lubricate the piston, keeping the steam tight and preventing the cooling of the cylinder. Another cause of refrigeration of the cylinder, and consequent waste of power in its operation, was the entrance of air, which followed the piston down the cylinder at each stroke, cooling its interior by its contact. The inventor prevented this from happening by covering the top of the cylinder.

How did it change the industry? Positive: Instead of using coal to run machines in a factory the steam engine was a more cost-efficient way of providing fuel for the machines. Things could now be made in mass production and it led to the invention of smaller and better engines.

1) Merchant: someone who buys and sells good, especially in large amounts 2) Patent: protected by a trademark or a brand name so as to establish the owner of it. 3) Monopoly: A situation in which a single company or group owns all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service 4) Tallow: fat from cattle and sheep that is used chiefly to make candles and soap.

Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton- Biography American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton is best know for developing the first successful commercial steamboat, the North River Steamboat (later known as the Clermont) which carried passengers between New York City and Albany, New York. Fulton also designed the world's first steam warship. He also designed the Nautilus, the first practical submarine in history, between 1973 and 1797. (Born Nov. 14, 1765, Lancaster county, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 24, 1815, New York, N.Y.) U.S. inventor and engineer. Born to Irish immigrant parents, he studied painting with Benjamin West in London but soon turned to engineering. After designing a system of inland waterways, he tried unsuccessfully to interest the French and British governments in his prototypes of submarines (Nautilus) and torpedoes. In 1801 he was commissioned by Robert R. Livingston to build a steamboat, and in 1807 Fulton's Clermont made the 150-mi (240-km) journey up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany in 32 hours, cutting 64 hours off the usual sailing time. It became the first commercially successful steamboat in the U.S. He later designed several other steamboats, including the world's first steam warship (1812). He was a member of the commission that recommended building the Erie Canal.

Robert Fulton Invention- Steamboat

The steamboat represented an important phase in the development of shipping. Before the steamboat was invented, boats were powered by sail power. From the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, steamboats were the most important type of boats for transportation, trading and warfare. The heart of Fulton's steamboat was a 24-horsepower Boulton and Watt engine. The engine had a separate condenser and drove itself through the difference in pressure between steam and a partial vacuum. Boulton and Watt also developed a centrifugal regulator that controlled the engine speed by regulating the amount of steam admitted. The engines had been used to replace water wheels in England and Fulton knew he could use something that mimicked a water wheel. The Rest of the Boat 

Charles Brown built the hull of the North River Steamboat (sometimes called the Clermont). The design is based on a Durham boat, which was essentially a river barge. The dimensions of the boat vary in different accounts, but one version has it as 133 feet long, 16.5 feet wide and 7 feet deep.

The Journey into Fame 

The North River Steamboat made its first journey on August 17, 1807 at an average speed of 4.7 miles per hour. It traveled 150 miles from New York to Albany in 32 hours. By comparison, a schooner would have taken 4 days, depending on winds and tides.

How did it change the industry? In England, water transportation improved with the creation of a network of canals, or humanmade waterways. By the mid-1800s, 4,250 miles of inland channels slashed the cost of transporting raw materials.

Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull- Biography Jethro Tull invented the seed drill (in 1701), the horse-drawn hoe, and an improved plough. Tull was educated at Oxford, England where studied law, he later studied agriculture during his travels across Europe. Jethro Tull inherited land in the southern part of England where he put into practice his study of agriculture. His seed drill would sow seed in uniform rows and cover up the seed in the rows. Up to that point, sowing seeds was done by hand by scattering seeds on the ground. Tull considered this method wasteful since many seeds did not take root. The first prototype seed drill was built from the foot pedals of Jethro Tull's local church organ. Jethro Tull was part of a group of farmers who founded the Norfolk system, an early attempt to apply science to farming. In 1731, Jethro Tull published "The New Horse Houghing Husbandry: or, an Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation".

Jethro Tull Invention- The Seed Drill

Before Jethro Tull invented his seed drill seeds were sewn by simply throwing them about. Some would germinate and some would fail. It was a very inefficient way of seeding that did not always produce good crops. Jethro Tull’s seed drill illuminated this problem. He created a machine that would plant seeds in three rows at a time. A hole for the seed would be made at a proper depth. The seed would be dropped in. The hole would be covered up. The machine, horse or cow drawn would then move to the next position and seed again. Planting with Jethro Tull’s seed drill invention improved germination fivefold. It would go on to greatly increase food production and help to eliminate famine.

How did it change the industry? The seed drill effectively planted seeds and increased food production. This created enough food to feed a large population in England and helped the Industrial Revolution progress, move on.

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Plough: used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting to loosen or turn the soil. A plough may be made of wood, iron, or steel. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture. Germinate: sprout, begin to grow

Richard Arkwright

Richard Arkwright- Biography Arkwright is considered the father of the modern industrial factory system and his inventions were a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. Richard Arkwright was born in Preston in 1732, the son of a tailor. Money was not available to send him to school, but his cousin Ellen taught him to read and write. He began working as an apprentice barber and it was only after the death of his first wife that he became an entrepreneur. His second marriage to Margaret Biggins in 1761 brought a small income that enabled him to expand his barber's business. He acquired a secret method for dyeing hair and traveled around the country purchasing human hair for use in the manufacture of wigs. During this time he was often in contact with weavers and spinners and when the fashion for wearing wigs declined, he looked to mechanical inventions in the field of textiles to make his fortune. By 1767, a machine for carding cotton had been introduced into England and James Hargreaves had invented the spinning jenny. With the help of a clockmaker, John Kay, who had been working on a mechanical spinning machine, Arkwright made improvements that produced a stronger yarn and required less physical labour. His new carding machine was patented in 1775. Arkwright's fortunes continued to rise and he constructed a horse-driven spinning mill at Preston - the first of many. He developed mills in which the whole process of yarn manufacture was carried on by one machine and this was further complimented by a system in which labour was divided, greatly improving efficiency and increasing profits. Arkwright was also the first to use James Watts' steam engine to power textile machinery, though he only used it to pump water to the millrace of a waterwheel. From the combined use of the steam engine and the machinery, the power loom was eventually developed. From 1775, a series of court cases challenged Arkwright's patents as copies of others work and they were revoked in 1785. Nonetheless, Arkwright was knighted in 1786 and by the time of his death on 3 August 1792, Arkwright had established factories in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Scotland, and was a wealthy man.

Richard Arkwright InventionThe Spinning Frame

The water frame is derived from the use of a water wheel to drive a number of spinning frames. The water wheel provided more power to the spinning frame than human operators, reducing the amount of human labor needed and increasing the spindle count dramatically. However, unlike the spinning jenny, the water frame could only spin one thread at a time until Samuel Crompton combined the two inventions into his spinning mule in 1779. However the water frame could be assembled with hundreds of spinning heads in a single building and was easy to operate. The waterwheel was, of course, extremely dependent on the weather. Measures had to be taken to prevent damage in flood conditions, while long periods of dry weather could give a shortage and during winter, freezing could be a problem. Much of the water for Richard Arkwright's wheels came from a sough draining a lead mine, which gave an almost constant supply that was also slightly warm.

How did it change the industry? In 1771, Arkwright installed the water frame in his cotton mill at Cromford, Derbyshire, on the River Derwent, creating one of the first factories that was specifically built to house machinery rather than just bringing workers together. It was one of the first instances of the working day being determined by the clock instead of the daylight hours, of people being employed rather than just contracted. In its final form, combined with his carding machine, it was the first truly continuous process. Its social impact was the sheer quantity of thread produced, supplying the new powered looms. One good effect of the frame is that it reduced the amount of human labour needed. One bad effect is that people lost jobs due to it.

Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus McCormick- Biography Cyrus Hall McCormick was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, the eldest son of Robert and Mary Ann McCormick. Though he received only a limited formal education, he showed a talent for mechanics and soon learned the skills of his father, who had been experimenting with farm machinery since about 1816. The elder McCormick patented a thresher and other farm machines, but none of them were commercially successful, and his attempts to build a mechanical reaper, a device capable of cutting grain, ended in failure. In 1831, Robert abandoned work on the reaper and Cyrus took over the project. With a new perspective on the project, Cyrus built a machine that departed radically from his father's designs. Its workings, including the gearings, reciprocating knife, projecting teeth, and rotating reel became the basis for modern-day harvesting machines. McCormick gave a public demonstration of his reaper in a field outside John Steele's tavern in July 1831. He further improved the machine and exhibited it in Lexington, Virginia, the following year. In 1844 McCormick made arrangements for the manufacture of his machines at factories in New York, Ohio, and other states; they sold well enough to provide McCormick with some capital to establish his own factory. McCormick, aware that the rapid opening of the Midwest and Great Plains to settlement would lead to demand for farm machines, and realizing the strategic importance of a Midwestern location, opened a factory in Chicago in 1847, where he produced 800 reapers the first year. McCormick steadily improved his reaper and supplemented his own patents by acquiring the patents of others. These acquisitions gave McCormick the competitive edge over Hussey. Following the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, at which both men displayed their machines, McCormick's business overwhelmed Hussey. In 1858, the year that Hussey sold out, McCormick was producing 4,000 machines annually.

Cyrus McCormick Invention- The Mechanical Reaper

McCormick reaper machine had several special elements:  

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a main wheel frame projected to the side a platform containing a cutter bar having fingers through which reciprocated a knife driven by a crank upon the outer end of the platform was a divider projecting ahead of the platform to separate the grain to be cut from that to be left standing a reel was positioned above the platform to hold the grain against the reciprocating knife to throw it back upon the platform The machine was drawn by a team walking at the side of the grain.

How did it change the industry? It revolutionized agriculture, transforming it from a small-scale, labor-intensive economy, to a large-scale, highly productive, and thoroughly commercial enterprise. Just consider the following statistics. In 1830, it took a man with a hand-held scythe three hours to harvest one bushel of wheat. By 1900 the mechanical reaper allowed him to do the job in just 10 minutes. The wider impact of McCormick's invention was not just efficient farming, but the industrial revolution itself. Mechanized farming freed up millions of workers to engage in non-agricultural work.