Sam Berman A.P. European Richard Arkwright
Education • My parents were very impoverished and could not afford to send me to school and instead arranged for me to be taught how to read and write by Ellen, my dear aunt. • I later became an apprentice to Mr. Nicholson, a barber at a nearby Kirkham and I began my working life as a barber and wig‐maker, setting up my first shop in Churchgate in Bolton in 1750. And continued it with the wife of my diseased boss. • At the age of 50, I decided to commence additional study to improve my English and my handwriting.
Accomplishments • I invented a waterproof dye for use on the fashionable 'periwigs' (wigs) of the time • In 1769, I patented the water‐frame, a machine that produced a strong twist for warps, substituting wooden and metal cylinders for human fingers. • I constructed the very first horse‐driven spinning mill at Preston which was the first of many more produced. • In 1773, I produced the first cloth made entirely of cotton. • I made improvements to the carding machine and produced a stronger yarn and that required less physical labor. My new carding machine was patented in 1775. • In 1777, I installed the very first steam engine to be used in a cotton mill • One of my main contributions was the way in which my factories operated. The highly disciplined and profitable factory system I had set up became widely followed. There were two thirteen‐hour shifts per day including an overlap. Bells rang at 5 am and 5 pm and the gates were shut precisely at 6 am and 6 pm. • I developed the village of Cromford by building houses with a well‐lit third storey References • John Kay • Jedediah Strutt • Samuel Need
Job Experience • In 1750 I was an apprentice to Mr. Nicholson (a barber) • I worked with John Kay to produce the water frame in 1768 and patented it in 1769 • In 1779, I was invited to Scotland where I helped form the cotton industry • I formed a partnership with Thomas Highs in 1785 to improve the spinning jenny • I ran my very own cotton factories where I had up to 600 workers. In the next five years my company expanded to a variety of new locations.
Inspiration/Mentor • My very first mentor was my aunt Ellen who taught me how to read and write. She inspired me to further my education. • Mr. Nicholson, the boss of my first apprenticeship, began me working with wigs and gave me my initial experience dealing with cotton. • John Wyatt (1700‐1766), a carpenter, and Lewis Paul (died 1759), the son of a French emigre, working in Lichfield, invented an apparatus for spinning in 1733. I invented the water frame based off the previous knowledge of these well‐educated men. • In 1738, John Kay of Bury, living at that time in Colchester, invented the flying shuttle, which doubled the speed of weaving. This gave me an incentive to further progress his studies in cotton industry even further and to help create a new and improved version of his creation.
Skills • I am a very keen businessman and am a very organized man. • I am a very good wigmaker, but also have learned in the art of drawing teeth as well and blood taking. • I am very skilled in the cotton industry and have invented several of the latest cotton inventions. • I am very efficient and do not give up. • I am a master of every aspect of a cotton mill whether it is how the machines work or indirectly how the mill operates.
Awards/Recognitions • My achievements were widely recognized; I served as High Sheriff of Derbyshire and was knighted in 1786. • About 30,000 people were employed in 1785 in factories using my patents. • I was asked to help Scotland in its quest to develop a cotton industry.
Quote • “The new, cheap textiles may not have been as hardwearing as broadcloth, but they were more abundant; and the fact that they would be washed with out suffering harm had a bearing, if not on their own life, at least on the lives of those who wore them."
To Cargill Cotton
Hi my name is Richard Arkwright and I am applying for the open position of Vice president of the company. Doing my research, I have discovered that this very company is very proud to be one of the world’s largest and oldest cotton businesses. We service growers, ginners, buyers and textile mills worldwide through our network of buying, selling and shipping offices and our cotton gins and warehouses. From an early age, I began working worth cotton wigs and ever since I fell in love with the cotton industry. In my earlier years, I invented the horse‐driven spinning; the first cloth ever made of cotton, and developed the first steam engine to be used in a cotton mill. Without my unimaginable determination to improve and progress the cotton industry, I would not be here today. Also in my prime years as a businessman, I owned my very own Cotton Company where we established multiple factories in a variety of places. Organization I feel is a key aspect in how to run a company and I feel I suit this criteria. I am quite qualified to become the vice president of Cargill Cotton and I hope we can work together to exceed our cotton goals.