Eli Whitney
#32817 Most Popular
About
Inventor of the cotton gin, a machine that separated cotton seeds from fibers. He worked with Phineas Miller as a business partner on the production of the cotton gin.
Before Fame
He worked as a manufacturer, farmer, and teacher.
Trivia
His cotton gin greatly sped up the cotton industry in the United States and the Antebellum South and was one of the greatest inventions of the Industrial Revolution. He received a patent for the machine in 1794, but by 1797 had seen his invention get pirated by cotton planters, ultimately putting he and his partner out of business.
Family Life
He married Henrietta Edwards in 1817 and had a daughter, Pierpont Edwards.
Associated With
His cotton gin also led to the growth of slavery, which Abraham Lincoln abolished.
