Pioneers of the Industrial Age

Pioneers of the Industrial Age — page 5 — PIONEERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE BREAKTHROUGHS IN TECHNOLOGY steel and new energy sources such as coal steam electricity and petroleum These new technologies led to greater productivity as in the example of the spinning jenny a power loom created by English inventor James Hargreaves which enabled workers to man ufacture cloth with much greater efficiency Yet it wasn't just the technology itself but also manufacturing systems that increased productivity The factory system allowed enterprises to better distribute tasks in the production process and to eliminate unnec essary work In addition developments in transportation technology including the advent of steam powered locomotives steamships automobiles and airplanes allowed for the mass distribution of the products that were created With new technologies and improved productivity came socioeconomic changes as well including a wider distribution of wealth and increased international trade The transi tion from an agrarian to an industrial society inspired the growth of cities and the working classes that inhabited them The socioeco nomic changes naturally fostered cultural shifts with workers abandoning the artisanal skills of the craftsman for those that involved IO

Pioneers of the Industrial Age — page 6 — INTRODUCTION operating machinery and working in a fac tory Industrialization also brought about a psychological change as the increased capa bilities of machines helped inspire a new confidence in society's ability to master nature by utilizing resources more efficiently This volume profiles some of the great est innovators of the Industrial Age Many are widely known for their contributions such as Eli Whitney inventor of the cotton gin Samuel Morse developer of the elec tric telegraph and Morse code Alexander Graham Bell the father of the electric tele phone Thomas Alva Edison inventor of the phonograph and the incandescent lightbulb and the Wright Brothers pioneers of avia tion Others may not be as recognizable but they are no less influential These include Guglielmo Marconi inventor of a success ful wireless telegraph Edmund Cartwright developer of the power loom for weav ing and Robert Fulton the inventor who brought steamboating from the experimen tal stage to commercial success These pioneers in their own way helped forge the industrialized world and lay the foundation for the important breakthroughs to come II

Pioneers of the Industrial Age — page 7 — GHAPTER 1 JOHN KAY he 18th century English machinist and engineer John Kay invented the fly ing shuttle which was an important step toward automatic weaving This device one of the first breakthroughs of the Industrial Revolution transformed the textile industry Kay the son of a wool manufacturer was born near the town of Bury in Lancashire Eng on July 16 1704 His father placed young John in charge of the family mill and the youth took advantage of this opportu nity by making several improvements to the mill's machinery In 1733 Kay received a patent for a New Engine or Machine for Opening and Dressing Wool that used his ingenious fly ing shuttle In previous looms the shuttle was passed through the lengthwise or warp threads by hand and wide fabrics required two weavers seated side by side passing the shuttle from left to right and then back again Kay mounted the shuttle on wheels in a track and used paddles to I2

Pioneers of the Industrial Age — page 8 — JOHN KAY O John Kay Science Society Picture Library Getty Images 13

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