Fun Facts
American inventor, pioneer, mechanical engineer, and
manufacturer Eli Whitney is best remembered as the
inventor of the cotton gin. He also affected the industrial
development of the United States when, in manufacturing
muskets for the government, he translated the concept of
interchangeable parts into a manufacturing system, giving birth to the American mass-production concept. Whitney saw that a machine to clean the seed from cotton could make the South prosperous and make its inventor rich. He set to work at once and within days had drawn a sketch to explain his idea; 10 days later he constructed a crude model that separated fiber from seed.
manufacturer Eli Whitney is best remembered as the
inventor of the cotton gin. He also affected the industrial
development of the United States when, in manufacturing
muskets for the government, he translated the concept of
interchangeable parts into a manufacturing system, giving birth to the American mass-production concept. Whitney saw that a machine to clean the seed from cotton could make the South prosperous and make its inventor rich. He set to work at once and within days had drawn a sketch to explain his idea; 10 days later he constructed a crude model that separated fiber from seed.