James Hargreaves

c. 1720 – 22 April 1778

James Hargreaves was an English weaver and carpenter from Lancashire who invented the spinning jenny around 1764, the first machine to allow one worker to spin multiple threads at once. His invention helped launch the mechanization of the textile industry, though it brought him little wealth in his lifetime.

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Life events

Born in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England
c. 1720

James Hargreaves was born around 1720 near Blackburn in Lancashire into a poor family and received no formal education.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Married Elizabeth Grimshaw
1740

Hargreaves married Elizabeth Grimshaw in 1740, and the couple raised a large family in the Blackburn area.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Worked as a handloom weaver and carpenter near Blackburn
c. 1740

Hargreaves earned his living as a weaver and carpenter in the cotton district of Lancashire, giving him first-hand knowledge of the shortage of spun yarn.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Invented the spinning jenny
c. 1764

Around 1764 Hargreaves devised the spinning jenny, a hand-powered frame that let a single spinner work eight or more spindles simultaneously.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
His machines were destroyed by local spinners
1768

In 1768 a mob of Lancashire spinners, fearing for their livelihoods, broke into Hargreaves's house and smashed his jennies.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Other ✓
Moved to Nottingham
1768

Following the riots, Hargreaves relocated to Nottingham in 1768, where the hosiery trade offered a market for machine-spun yarn.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Ran a small spinning mill in Nottingham with Thomas James
c. 1770

In partnership with Thomas James, Hargreaves built and operated a modest cotton mill in Nottingham until his death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Patented the spinning jenny
12 July 1770

Hargreaves obtained a patent for a sixteen-spindle jenny on 12 July 1770, but could not enforce it because he had sold machines before filing.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died in Nottingham
22 April 1778

James Hargreaves died on 22 April 1778 in Nottingham in modest circumstances.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓