-
Jethro Tull - horse-drawn seed drill
Jethro Tull invents a seed drill which sows seeds into the ground and buries them at a specific depth which allowed for mass food production -
John Kay - flying shuttle
John Kay invented the flying shuttle which revolutionized the textile industry and was a step toward automatic weaving. His shuttle was mounted on wheels which allowed it to move from side to side with a paddle in order to weave the fabric -
James Watt - steam engine condenser
after observing Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine design, Watt invents a new design to be used in machines and transport which wastes less steam -
James Hargreaves - spinning jenny
James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny. The spinning jenny is a hand cranked machine which multiple spindles that spun wool into yarn quickly. -
Richard Arkwright - spinning frame
Richard Arkwright's spinning frame was a machine powered by water that allowed for automatic mass-production of yarn and thread using multiple spindles. -
Adam Smith - free market system and laissez faire
Adam Smith is known as the father of modern economics for coming up with a system of economy that is regulated only through the natural laws of supply and demand, not through government control. He catalogued his ideas in his 1776 book "The Wealth of Nations." -
Samuel Crompton - spinning mule
Samuel Crompton invented a spinning mule which allowed for increased production of thread and yarn. by combining elements of James Hargreaves's spinning jenny and Richard Arkwright's spinning frame, Crompton was able to make a device that spun hundreds of spools of yarn at once. -
Henry Cort - puddling process
Henry Cort discovered a process that significantly increased pure iron production through what is called puddling. This process consisted of stirring the iron above a reverberatory furnace to remove as much impure carbon as possible -
Alessandro Volta - electric battery
Alessandro Volta discovered electric batteries to provide power to machines. He did this by stacking alternating layers of zinc and silver metals in saltwater in order to allow an electric current to flow through. -
Robert Owen - Utopian Society
Robert Owen invented the idea of a Utopian society in which poverty and unemployment was eliminated, and advocated for socialist government -
Elias Howe - sewing machine
Elias Howe invented the sewing machine which dramatically increased textiles production and production speed by automatically stitching together leather and fabric -
Karl Marx - communism
Karl Marx invented the idea of communism as a form of socialist government in which all assets and businesses are owned and run by the government to create a classless society