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James Watts
The first steam engine, invented by Thomas Savery in 1689, was a form of pump, used to remove water from mines. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented a steam-operated pump with pistons. From the 1760s, James Watt improved on Newcomen's ideas and produced more efficient steam engines. -
John Kay invention
John Kay, born July 16, 1704, near Bury, Lancashire, England—died c. 1780, Franc), English machinist and engineer, inventor of the flying shuttle, which was an important step toward automatic weaving. -
James Hargreaves
The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England. -
Richard Arkwright
A water frame is a water-powered spinning frame which was an easy way to create cotton thread. The first time the machine was used in 1768. It was able to spin 128 threads at a time, which was an easier and faster method than ever before. It was developed by Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1767. -
Samuel Compton
Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule in 1779, so called because it is a hybrid of Arkwright's water frame and James Hargreaves' spinning jenny in the same way that mule is the product of crossbreeding a female horse with a male donkey. -
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick, (born April 13, 1771, Illogan, Cornwall, England—died April 22, 1833, Dartford, Kent), British mechanical engineer and inventor who successfully harnessed high-pressure steam and constructed the world's first steam railway locomotive (1803). -
Robert Fulton
American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton is best know for developing the first successful commercial steamboat, the North River Steamboat which carried passengers between New York City and Albany, New York. Fulton also designed the world's first steam warship. -
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an engineer. He built steam locomotives for the first railways. Sometimes people call him 'the Father of the Railway'. George Stephenson was born in 1781. -
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist. He is best known for his work on vaccination and microbial fermentation. The process of pasteurization is named for him. Louis Pasteur discovered that microbes were responsible for souring alcohol and came up with the process of pasteurization, where bacteria is destroyed by heating beverages and then allowing them to cool. His work in germ theory also led him and his team to create vaccinations for anthrax and rabies. -
Henry Bessemer
Sir Henry Bessemer was an English engineer, inventor, and businessman. Bessemer's name is chiefly known in connection with the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel. Interesting Henry Bessemer Facts: Henry was born in Charlton, son of successful inventor Anthony Bessemer. -
Thomas Edison
Inventor Thomas Edison created such great innovations as the practical incandescent electric light bulb and the phonograph. A savvy businessman, he held more than 1,000 patents for his inventions. -
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) made dozens of breakthroughs in the production, transmission and application of electric power. He invented the first alternating current (AC) motor and developed AC generation and transmission technology.
