Industrial Revolution Inventors

  • Jethro Tull

    Jethro Tull
    He invented the seed drill. This is a mechanical seeder that sowed efficiently at the correct depth and spacing and then covered the seed so that it could grow. This saved a lot of time because seeds no longer had to be placed by hand.
  • Thomas Newcomen

    Thomas Newcomen
    He invented the first steam engine. This proved that steam could safely be used to drive machinery. This paved the way for the Industrial Revolution and the creation of railways.
  • John Kay

    	John Kay
    He invented the flying shuttle. This machine greatly accelerated weaving by allowing the shuttle carrying the weft to be passed through the warp threads faster and over a greater width of cloth.
  • James Hargreaves

    James Hargreaves
    He invented the spinning jenny. This machine made it so that eight threads of cotton could be thread at a time instead of just one.
  • Richard Arkwright

    Richard Arkwright
    He invented the spinning machine. This machine used a water frame that made it possible to spin cotton yarn more quickly and in greater quantities than ever before. This machine made it so people no longer had to do this.
  • Jeremy Bentham

    Jeremy Bentham
    He was a british economist who believed in the Utilitarian philosophy. This was a moral theory that argues that actions should be judged right or wrong to the extent they increase or decrease human well being.
  • Henry Cort

    Henry Cort
    He invented a new iron making process. This process was called the puddling process. This transformed cast iron into a more versatile and valuable material of wrought iron without labor-intensive hammering.
  • Edmund Cartwright

    Edmund Cartwright
    He invented the first wool combing machine. The machine was used to arrange and lay parallel by the length of the fibers of the wool. It was also used to remove all the impurities from the wool fibers.
  • Eli Whitney

    Eli Whitney
    He invented the Cotton Gin. This gin separated the sticky seeds from the fibers in short-staple cotton. He believed that his invention would help reduce the demand for enslaved labor.
  • Elias Howe

    Elias Howe
    He was known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sewing machine. This machine used a groove and curve-eye pointed needle.
  • Karl Marx

    Karl Marx
    He created the "scientific socialist" theory that became known as communism. He thought society would have no class divisions or government or personal property.
  • Cyrus Field

    Cyrus Field
    He invented the first transatlantic cable. This made it so that messages could be sent between Europe and North America in minutes rather than days.