Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

  • Typewriter

    Invented by Henry Mill in England in 1714, the typewriter was a mechanical device with keys that pressed and typed characters on a piece of paper. Before the invention, people had to handwrite all their papers and documents. The typewriter created a faster and easier way to type documents. It was important because writers could easily type their documents at a quicker, more efficient rate.
  • The Spinning Jenny

    Invented by James Hargreaves in 1764 in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England, The spinning jenny was a machine that drew and twisted yarn simultaneously just as a human spinner with a wheel would do, only faster. It was invented to produce textiles at a faster, more efficient rate. It was important because it played a major role in the textile industry of America and Britain, while producing 24 times more cloth than by hand.
  • Cotton Gin

    Eli Whitney first invented cotton gin in August of 1793 in South America. This machine enabled laborers to separate seeds from the cotton with little effort. Without this invention a laborer could only clean one pound of cotton a day. With cotton gin, a laborer could produce fifty pounds of cotton. It was important because it skyrocketed cotton productions for years to come. The United states became a powerful global force in cotton production, mainly because of the cotton gin.
  • Rotary Washing Machine

    Invented by Hamilton Smith in 1858, the Rotary Washing Maching was a washing machine that was operated on a low speed gasoline engine. It had two rollers that worked water through your clothes. Before the invention, people washed their clothes by hand. With the invention, clothes could be washed quicker, and you could wash more than one of your clothing articles at a time.