|
Sir Richard Arkwright (Old Style 23 December 1732 New Style 3 January 1733 � 3 August 1792), was an Englishman who, although the patents were eventually overturned, is often credited for inventing the spinning frame - later renamed the water frame following the transition to water power. He also patented a carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn. A self-made man, he was a leading entrepreneur of the Industrial Revolution. Arkwright's achievement was to combine power, machinery, semi-skilled labour, and a new raw material (cotton) to create, more than a century before Ford, mass produced yarn. His skills of organization made him more than anyone else, the creator of the modern factory system, especially in his mill at Cromford. |