Key Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Seed Drill - Jethro Tull

He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1700 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows (1714). He later developed a horse-drawn hoe.

Four Crop Rotation - Lord Townshend

Flying Shuttle - John Kay

The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics, and it could be mechanized, allowing for automatic machine looms.

Spinning Jenny - James Hargreaves

The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England. It was called a Spinning Jenny because James Hargreaves named his invention after his wife.

Steam Engine - James Watt

Improved the Newcomen steam engine in 1781. The first steam engine, invented by Thomas Savery in 1689, was a form of pump, used to remove water from mines. In 1712, Thomas Newcomen invented a steam-operated pump with pistons. From the 1760s, James Watt improved on Newcomen's ideas and produced more efficient steam engines.

Spinning Frame - Richard Arkwright

Arkwright's water frame (so-called because it operated by waterpower) produced a cotton yarn suitable for warp. The thread made on James Hargreaves' spinning jenny (invented about 1767) lacked the strength of Arkwright's cotton yarn and was suitable only for weft (the crosswise threads on a loom).

Pig Iron in a Blast Furnace - Abraham Darby

Pig iron is the intermediate product extracted from iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron is used as raw material in steel making. Pig iron gets its name from the old-fashioned method of casting the iron into molds arranged in sand beds so that they could be fed from a common runner.

Crushed Stone Layer Roads - James McAdam

It was another Scottish engineer, John Loudon McAdam, who designed the first modern roads. He developed an inexpensive paving material of soil and stone aggregate (known as macadam).

Steam Locomotive - George Stephenson

In 1814, the first successful steam engine locomotive was built by the British Engineer George Stephenson called Blücher, which could haul up to 30 tons of coal at 4mph going uphill. Later in 1825, Stephenson also created the first public railway for steam locomotives.