Industrial Revolution Inventors/Inventions/Contributions

  • Thomas Newcomen

    Thomas Newcomen was an English inventor who created the first practical steam engine. It was named the Newcomen atmospheric engine.
  • John Kay

    John Kay
    John Kay was an inventor who invented the flying shuttle. This was a key contribution to the Industrial Revolution, and this was also an important step to automatic weaving.
  • John Roebuck

    John Roebuck
    John Roebuck played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He is known for developing the industrial-scale manufacture of sulfuric acid. He also established an ironworks at Carron in Stirlingshire, Scotland. There, he introduces various improvements in production.
  • Richard Arkwright

    Richard Arkwright was an English Inventor and an entrepreneur early in the Industrial Revolution. He is credited with inventing the spinning frame, which was later renamed the water frame. He later opened factories in Nottingham and Cromford, and then operated factories equipped with machinery.
  • James Watt

    James Watt
    James Watt was a Scottish Inventor, mechanical engineer, and a chemist. He improved upon Thomas Newcomen's steam engine, and made his own named the Watt steam engine. This machine was fundamental change in the Industrial Revolution.
  • Samuel Crompton

    Samuel Crompton
    Samuel Crompton was an English inventor and pioneer in the spinning industry. He invented the spinning mule, a machine that permitted a large scale manufacture of high quality thread for the textile industry.
  • Edmund Cartwright

    Edmund Cartwright was an English inventor who went on to invent the power loom. He also invented other items such as a cordelier, a machine that makes rope, and a steam engine that used alcohol instead of water.
  • Eli Whitney

    Eli Whitney
    Eli Whitney was an American inventor who later invented the cotton gin. This invention successfully impacted the Industrial Revolution, and this also shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.
  • Alessandro Volta

    Alessandro Volta is a physicist, chemist, and a pioneer of electricity and power. He is credited for inventing the electric battery and the discoverer of methane.The invention of the electric battery provided the first source of continuous current.
  • Robert Fulton

    Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor. He developed a commercially successful steamboat, and the first one was called The North River Steamboat of Clermont. Also, he designed a system of inland waterways, a submarine, and a steam warship.
  • Elias Howe

    Elias Howe
    Elias Howe was an American Inventor who was best known for his creation of the modern lockstitch sweing machine. This machine helped revolutionize garment manufacture in factories and at home.
  • Cyrus Field

    Cyrus Field was an American businessman. He created the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean.