James Hargreaves facts for kids

James Hargreaves (around 1720 – April 22, 1778) was an English weaver, carpenter, and inventor. He lived and worked in Lancashire, England. He is famous for inventing the spinning jenny in 1764. This machine was a big step in making cloth during the Industrial Revolution.

Hargreaves was one of three important inventors who helped make spinning machines. Richard Arkwright invented the water frame in 1769. Later, Samuel Crompton combined ideas from both to create the spinning mule in 1779.

Life of James Hargreaves

James Hargreaves was born in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. He worked as a hand loom weaver for most of his life. He was married to Elizabeth Grimshaw and had 13 children.

The Spinning Jenny

Model of the spinning jenny in a museum in Wuppertal, Germany

The improved spinning jenny that was used in textile mills

The idea for the spinning jenny came to Hargreaves in a simple way. A one-thread spinning wheel fell over on the floor. He saw that the wheel and the spindle kept spinning. This made him realize that if many spindles stood upright, they could spin several threads at once.

The spinning jenny allowed one person to spin many threads at the same time. This made making yarn much faster than before. However, the jenny was mainly used to make cotton weft threads. It could not make strong enough yarn for the warp, which is another part of the fabric. Arkwright's spinning frame later provided this stronger warp yarn.

Hargreaves built a jenny for himself and sold some to his neighbors. At first, other hand spinners liked his invention. But soon, they saw that the price of yarn started to fall. This made them angry, and some even damaged his machines.

Because of this opposition, Hargreaves moved to Nottingham. The cotton hosiery industry there needed more yarn, so his invention was welcomed. In Nottingham, Hargreaves made jennies for a man named Shipley. On June 12, 1770, he received a patent for his invention. He then ran a small factory with a partner, Thomas James, in Hockley. James Hargreaves continued this business until he died in 1778.

Stories About the Spinning Jenny

You might have heard stories that the spinning jenny was named after Hargreaves' wife or daughter, Jenny. However, this is not true. Records show that no one in his family was named Jenny. The word 'jenny' was a common slang term in Lancashire. It meant an "engine" or "machine" in the 18th century.

Some old stories also claimed that Hargreaves died in a workhouse. But parish records show that this was also false. He lived in a house next to his factory until his death.

See also

In Spanish: James Hargreaves para niños