Fascinating
facts about the invention
of the
Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney in
1793 |
COTTON GIN |
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AT A GLANCE:
Eli Whitney
having newly graduated from Yale University headed to Georgia to make his
fortune. By April, 1793 Whitney had invented the cotton gin. After the
invention of the cotton gin, the yield of raw cotton doubled each decade
after 1800. Demand was fueled by other inventions of the Industrial
Revolution, such as the machines to spin and weave it and the steamboat to
transport it. By midcentury America was growing three-quarters of the
world's supply of cotton, most of it shipped to England or New England where
it was manufactured into cloth.
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Invention: |
Cotton Gin
in 1793 |
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Function: |
noun / cotton gin |
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Definition: |
The cotton gin is a
mechanical device which removes the seeds, seed hulls, and other
small objects from the fibers of cotton, a process which until that
time had been very labor-intensive. |
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Patent: |
X72 (US) issued March
14, 1794 |
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Inventor: |
Eli Whitney
(born Elias Whitney) |
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Criteria: |
First to
invent. First to patent. First practical. Entrepreneur. |
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Birth: |
December 8,
1765 in Westborough, Massachusetts |
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Death: |
January 8,
1825 in New Haven, Connecticut) |
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Nationality: |
American
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TO
LEARN MORE
RELATED INFORMATION:
Eli
Whitney Biography
from The Great Idea Finder
Agricultural
History from The Great Idea Finder
Controversial Inventions
from The Great Idea Finder
Historic Patents 1790 - 1836 from The Great Idea Finder
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Designated
trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. |
| Reference
Sources in BOLD Type. |
This
page revised
January 5,
2006. |
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