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
JOHN KAY O John Kay Science Society Picture Library Getty Images 13
PIONEERS OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE BREAKTHROUGHS IN TECHNOLOGY shoot the shuttle from side to side when the weaver jerked a cord Using a flying shuttle one weaver could weave cloth of any width more quickly than two could before Wool manufacturers throughout York shire quickly adopted the new invention but they also organized a protective club to avoid paying Kaya royalty Desperate to protect his patent Kay spent most of his money on legal fees He also faced a prob lem with weavers who considered the flying shuttle a menace to labor and destroyed a model of the device Kay moved to France and resumed his work but he is said to have died in obscurity probably in 1764 Kay s invention so increased yarn consumption that it spurred the invention of spinning machines but its true importance lay in its adaptation in power looms 14
CHAPTER 2 JAMES HARGREAVES he obscurity of James Hargreaves s life contrasts sharply with the worldwide influence of his invention a yarn spinning machine called the spinningjenny Relatively little is known ofhis life He was baptized on Jan 8 1721 in Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire Eng While still a boy he became a carpen ter and spinner in Standhill a village nearby At that time Lancashire was the center of England s manufacture of cotton goods The industry was still confined to workers homes however and the cards spinning wheels and looms were operated by hand It is said that an accident gave Hargreaves the idea for his spinning jenny In his crowded cottage which served him both as home and workshop he was experimenting with spinning two threads at one time His experiments were unsuccessful however because the horizontal spindles allowed the threads to fly apart and become tan gled After his daughter Jenny overturned 15
