Profile of the Day: Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney

On this day 250 years ago, inventor Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Massachusetts.

Whitney was the eldest child of Eli Whitney, Sr., a prosperous farmer, and Elizabeth Fay. During the American Revolutionary War, Whitney had his own profitable nail manufacturing operation in his father’s workshop.

After graduating from Yale, Whitney made his way to the South. It was there that he revolutionized the cotton industry with his invention of the cotton gin. His new machine quickly and easily separated cotton fibers from the seeds, dramatically increasing production of cotton. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export thanks to Whitney’s invention. Although he patented his invention in 1794, the device was widely pirated and left Whitney unable to profit from his own creation.

He later made another pioneering contribution to the manufacturing industry by introducing the idea of interchangeable parts. Although he did not invent the concept, Whitney is credited with popularizing the idea and implementing it in the manufacturing of muskets.

Often credited as a pioneer of American manufacturing, Whitney’s accomplishments not only transformed an entire industry, but also laid the groundwork for the “American system” of mass production.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons