In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, an improvement to looms that enabled weavers to weave faster. The original shuttle contained a bobbin on to which the weft (weaving term for the crossways yarn) yarn was wound. It was normally pushed from one side of the warp (weaving term for the series of yarns that extended lengthways in a loom) to the other side by hand. Large looms needed two weavers to throw the shuttle. The flying shuttle was thrown by a leaver that could be operated by one weaver.
James Hargreaves was a weaver living in the village of Stanhill in Lancashire. It is claimed that one day his daughter, Jenny, accidentally knocked over the family spinning wheel. The spindle continued to revolve and it gave Hargreaves the idea that a whole line of spindles could be worked off one wheel. In 1764, Hargreaves built what became known as the Spinning-Jenny. The machine used eight spindles onto which the thread was spun from a corresponding set of rovings. By turning a single wheel, the operator could now spin
eight threads at once. Later, improvements were made that enabled the number to be
increased to eighty.
The power loom was a steam-powered, mechanically operated version of a regular loom, an invention that combined threads to make cloth. In 1785, Edmund Cartwright patented the first power loom and set up a factory in Doncaster, England to manufacture cloth. A prolific inventor, Edmund Cartwright also invented a wool- combing machine in 1789, continued to improve his power loom, invented a steam engine that used alcohol and a machine for making rope in 1797, and aided Robert Fulton with his steamboats.
By April 1793, Whitney had designed and constructed the cotton gin, a machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States. Prior to his invention, farming cotton required hundreds of man-hours to separate the cottonseed from the raw cotton fibers. Simple seed-removing devices have been around for centuries, however, Eli Whitney's invention automated the seed separation process. His machine could generate up to fifty pounds of cleaned cotton daily, making cotton production profitable for the southern states.
Watt initially worked as a maker of mathematical instruments, but soon became interested in steam engines. The first working steam engine had been patented in 1698 and by the time of Watt's birth, Newcomen engines were pumping water from mines all over the country. In around 1764, Watt was given a model Newcomen engine to repair. He realized that it was hopelessly inefficient and began to work to improve the design. He designed a separate condensing chamber for the steam engine that prevented enormous losses of steam. His first patent in 1769 covered this device and other improvements on Newcomen's
American inventor Robert Fulton successfully built and operated a submarine (in France) in 1801, before turning his talents to the steamboat. Robert Fulton was accredited with turning the steamboat into a commercial success. On August 7, 1807, Robert Fulton's Clermont went from New York City to Albany, making history with a 150-mile trip taking 32 hours, at an average speed of about 5 miles-per-hour.
John McAdam designed roads using broken stones laid in symmetrical, tight patterns and covered with small stones to create a hard surface. McAdam discovered that the best stone or gravel for road surfacing had to be broken or crushed, and then graded to a constant size of chippings. John McAdam's design, called "macadam roads," provided the greatest advancement in road construction at the time. The water bound Macadam roads were the forerunners of the bitumen-based binding that was to become tarmacadam. The word tarmacadam was shortened to the now familiar tarmac. The first tarmac road to be laid was in Paris in 1854.
Richard Trevithick's invention is considered the first tramway locomotive. However, it was a road locomotive, designed for a road and not for a railroad. The “Father of the Locomotive Engine” was credited with many inventions over his lifetime, including the steam carriage, the steam barge, the portable agricultural engine, and the screw propeller. Trevithick's accomplishments were many and the inventor did not fully receive the credit he was due during his lifetime.