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Birth of Eli Whitney Jr
Eli Whitneys son was born on Dec 8, 1765. He was only 6 when his dad died. -
Eli's mother's death
Eli WhitneyEli's mother, Elizabeth Fay, died on August 18, 1777 when Eli was 11. This made him begin working on a profitbale nail manurfacturing at the age of 14 during the Revolutionary War. -
Yale
Yale UniversityHe did not have enough money to go to college so he taught school for $7.00 a month to build up the funds he needed. He went started Yale in 1789 at the age of 23. Whitney graduated from Yale in 1792, at the age of 27, with intentions to be a lawyer. After graduation, he was hired to be a tutor in South Carolina because he didn't have the funds to become a lawyer. But instead he got offered to stay with Catherine Greene who lived on a plantation during the Revolutionary War. -
Partnership with Phineas
Eli WhitneyEli Whitney went into partnership with Phineas Miller in May of 1793. He then returned to New England to build his gin. -
Cotton Gin
Picture Whitney and Miller patented the cotton gin in 1793. Their goal was to produce and install gins throughout the South and charge farmers 2/5 of their end profits. Their invention was widely pirated by other farmers trying to create their own cotton gin. Whitney spent several years in legal battles and ended up agreeing to license gins at an affordable rate. -
Patent Granted
Picture The patent for the cotton gin was not granted until 1794, but it didn't officially get validated until 1807. There was controversy over whether or not the cotton gin was actually Whitney's idea. -
Out of Business
out of business Whitney and Miller went out of business in 1797 because the planters using the cotton gins were unwilling to pay the service costs and the easiness of the gins being pirated and copied. This caused them both to be involved in many court cases. -
Bankruptsy
bankrupt Whitney was on the verge of bankruptsy and the cotton gin legal issues left him in huge debt. His New Havne cotton gin factory burned to the ground. -
Interchangeable Parts
picture With the potential war with France, the government looked for people to supply weapons and firearms. Whitney promised to manufacture 10,000 rifles with in a 2 year time period and the government accepted his bid. It ended up taking 10 years for him to finish, but even with the 8 year dealy he got another order for 15,000 muskets. He was able to supply those in 2 years. -
Sell the Cotton Gin?
Cottin Gin PictureThe state of South Carolina offered $50,000 for the patent rights of the cotton gin (which was half of their profit). After this, other offers were made by Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. They reluctantly grossed about $90,000. -
Marriage
Marriage Eli Whitney married Henrietta Edwards in 1817. They had 4 children, but only 3 survived. -
Eli's Death
Pic of Eli Eli Whitney died on Janurary 8, 1825, at age 59 due to Prostate Cancer. He died in New Haven, Connecticut. -
Modern Day Cotton Gin
Modern Cotton GinThe modern day cottong gin still operates the same way that Eli Whitney made it to but it does more. Now cotton gins can dry the cotton, moisturize, sort, clean, and bale it into bundles. This gets the cotton completely ready for sale.
