In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle,

an improvement to looms that enabled

weavers to weave faster. The original shuttle
contained a bobbin on to which the weft
(weaving term for the crossways yarn) yarn
was wound. It was normally pushed from one
side of the warp (weaving term for the series
of yarns that extended lengthways in a loom)
to the other side by hand. Large looms needed
two weavers to throw the shuttle. The flying
shuttle was thrown by a leaver that could be
operated by one weaver.

James Hargreaves was a weaver living in

the village of Stanhill in Lancashire. It is
claimed that one day his daughter, Jenny,
accidentally knocked over the family spinning
wheel. The spindle continued to revolve and it
gave Hargreaves the idea that a whole line of
spindles could be worked off one wheel.
In 1764, Hargreaves built what became known
as the Spinning-Jenny. The machine used eight
spindles onto which the thread was spun from
a corresponding set of rovings. By turning a
single wheel, the operator could now spin
eight threads at once. Later, improvements
were made that enabled the number to be
increased to eighty.
 The power loom was a steam-powered,
mechanically operated version of a regular
loom, an invention that combined threads
to make cloth. In 1785, Edmund
Cartwright patented the first power loom
and set up a factory in Doncaster, England
to manufacture cloth. A prolific inventor,
Edmund Cartwright also invented a wool-
combing machine in 1789, continued to
improve his power loom, invented a steam
engine that used alcohol and a machine for
making rope in 1797, and aided Robert
Fulton with his steamboats.

By April 1793, Whitney had designed and

constructed the cotton gin, a machine that
automated the separation of cottonseed from the
short-staple cotton fiber.
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin
revolutionized the cotton industry in the United
States. Prior to his invention, farming cotton
required hundreds of man-hours to separate the
cottonseed from the raw cotton fibers. Simple
seed-removing devices have been around for
centuries, however, Eli Whitney's invention
automated the seed separation process. His
machine could generate up to fifty pounds of
cleaned cotton daily, making cotton production
profitable for the southern states.
 Watt initially worked as a maker of mathematical
instruments, but soon became interested in steam
engines.
The first working steam engine had been
patented in 1698 and by the time of Watt's birth,
Newcomen engines were pumping water from
mines all over the country. In around 1764, Watt
was given a model Newcomen engine to repair.
He realized that it was hopelessly inefficient and
began to work to improve the design. He
designed a separate condensing chamber for the
steam engine that prevented enormous losses of
steam. His first patent in 1769 covered this
device and other improvements on Newcomen's

American inventor Robert Fulton successfully built

and operated a submarine (in France) in 1801,
before turning his talents to the steamboat. Robert
Fulton was accredited with turning the steamboat
into a commercial success. On August 7, 1807,
Robert Fulton's Clermont went from New York City
to Albany, making history with a 150-mile trip
taking 32 hours, at an average speed of about 5
miles-per-hour.
 John McAdam designed roads using broken
stones laid in symmetrical, tight patterns and
covered with small stones to create a hard
surface. McAdam discovered that the best stone
or gravel for road surfacing had to be broken or
crushed, and then graded to a constant size of
chippings. John McAdam's design, called
"macadam roads," provided the greatest
advancement in road construction at the time.
The water bound Macadam roads were the
forerunners of the bitumen-based binding that
was to become tarmacadam. The word
tarmacadam was shortened to the now familiar
tarmac. The first tarmac road to be laid was in
Paris in 1854.

Richard Trevithick's invention is considered the

first tramway locomotive. However, it was a
road locomotive, designed for a road and not
for a railroad. The “Father of the Locomotive
Engine” was credited with many inventions
over his lifetime, including the steam carriage,
the steam barge, the portable agricultural
engine, and the screw propeller. Trevithick's
accomplishments were many and the inventor
did not fully receive the credit he was due
during his lifetime.