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Thomas Newcomen
Thomas Newcomen was a British inventor and engineer of the atmospheric steam engine. For more than ten years he experimented with a steam pump with his assistant John Calley, who was a plumber. In his invention, he made sure that the pressure of the engine wasn't limited by the pressure of the steam. -
John Kay
John Kay was the one who invented the flying shuttle. He was an American engineer and machinist. His invention was a big step to automatic weaving. With his invention, it allowed fabrics to be weaved together more quickly than before. -
Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright invented both the water frame and the spinning frame/drawing frame. He was an English textile industrialist and inventor. He was mostly known for his use of power-driven machinery and his work in a factory system. Throughout many years he opened many factories, and had machines that would carry out many textile manufacturings from carding to spinning. -
James Watt
James Watt has created many inventions, such as the Watt steam engine which wasn't a completely new invention, it was just an improvement on Newcomen's steam engine. James Watt was a Scottish instrument maker and inventor. Instead of inventing the steam engine, he improved the engine's apparatus. He reduced the waste from the steam engine. -
Samuel Crompton
Samuel Crompton was a british inventor who created the spinning mule. The spinning mule was a large-scale manufacture of thread and yarn (high quality). He was inspired to invent the spinning mule because of the defects of the spinning jenny. He couldn't afford a patent, so he told other manufacturers about it. -
Edmund Cartwright
The power loom was invented by Edmund Cartwright. This was the first wool-combing machine. He visited cotton-spinning mills which led to him being inspired to want to invent one himself. The power loom lowered manufacturing costs and didn't benefit him much. -
Nicolas LeBlanc
Nicolas LeBlanc (a french surgeon and chemist) is known for creating the "soda ash" also known as sodium carbonate. He was able to make this from common salt (sodium chloride). This industrial-chemical process was one of the most important key parts of the industrial revolution. The process of his invention was cheap and simple, but he didn't receive much from it. -
Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney's invention, the cotton gin, made green-seed cotton a very profitable crop throughout the South. It was also a key in the continuous of slavery. Eli Whitney was an American mechanical engineer, inventor, and manufacturer. The cotton gin was a concept of mass production of interchangeable parts. -
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton invented the steamboat, but he also designed many things like a submarine, a system of inland waterways, and a steam warship. He was an American engineer, artist, and inventor. He started working on the steam boat as a Treaties of the Improvement of Canal Navigation because being an artist didn't work out for him. His invention also helped a lot when war was happening during this time period, specifically France's War with Britain. -
Alessandro Volta
Alessandro Volta invented the voltaic pile and the first electric battery. The electric battery provided the first source of continuous current. Alessandro Volta started to experiment with metals alone after hearing that there was "metallic electricity." The Voltaic pile is related with the battery and electric current. He had it consist of alternating discs of zinc and silver which was separated by paper/cloth soaked in salt water or sodium hydroxide. -
Cyrus Field
Cyrus Field was the one who invented the telegraph cable. He was an American financier. It was a well-insulated line that would lay across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. At first he made several unsuccessful attempts, but he eventually succeeded. It stretched nearly 2,000 miles along the Atlantic. However, the cable was weak and the current stopped functioning in the beginning of September. They later laid another one down and this one became very successful. -
John Wesley
John Wesley made the Celluloid, which was the first practical artificial plastic. He was an American industrialist and inventor. He started a business with his brothers, where they began experiments, and made many mixtures.