Richard Arkwright
Also called: Arkwright · Topic: The Age of Industrialisation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "The Age of Industrialisation"
Meaning
Richard Arkwright (1732–1792) was an English inventor and businessman who created the cotton mill. In a mill, the costly new machines were bought, set up and looked after under one roof and one management. This made close supervision of work, quality checks and control of workers possible, which could not be done while production was scattered across village homes. For this reason he is often called a father of the factory system.
Example
Arkwright patented the water frame, a water-powered spinning machine, in 1769. In 1771 he opened a water-powered spinning mill at Cromford in Derbyshire.
Don't confuse with
- James Hargreaves: he devised the Spinning Jenny (1764), a hand-turned machine that families used at home. Arkwright built the factory system around power-driven machines.