Spinning Jenny

Also called Spinning Engine, mechanical spinning device, invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves.

In the 18th–century there happened to be an acute lack of yarn in the county of Lancashire. Due to this the British Society of Arts announced a competition where they looked out for a machine with the ability to spin six twines of wool, flax, hemp or cotton at the same time and which is run by only one person (Ziegler 2). The aim was not only to fight the lack but also to increase the labour productivity effectively and further to start controlling the homebound industry by concentrating on manufacturing (Braudel 566 - 567; Ziegler 2).

The desired specifications by the British Society of Arts were achieved by James Hargreaves, a handloom weaver, who presented the Spinning Jenny in 1764 (Ziegler 2). Hargreaves got the idea for the Spinning Jenny by accident when a spinning wheel fell down in his house. When he saw how wheel and newel kept on turning as if by their own volition he thought about a way to automatise the spinning action ([1]).

There is little information about Hargreaves himself. He was born near Blackburn, but the exact location is unknown. He was not able to read or to write but he had an interest in carpentry and engineering. Legend has it that the name “Jenny” came from his daughter who is said to be the person who overthrew the spinning wheel by accident. Modern research doubts this, because neither one of Hargreaves' daughters (there were several) nor his wife were named Jenny. It is believed that the name “Jenny” is simply an abbreviation for a machine or engine ([2]; [3]).

The Spinning Jenny was later run by water power which moved the wheel by a crank-handle (Ziegler 2). Another machine for improving productivity and efficiency of spinning was the Water-frame Spinning Machine invented in 1769 by Richard Arkwright (1732 – 1792) (Braudel 566; Ziegler 2). Through the inventions of the Spinning Jenny and the Water-frame Spinning Machine productivity rose tenfold (Braudel 567).

Sources

• Braudel, Fernand. Civilization and Capitalism. 15th – 18th Century. 3. vols. Transl. Sian Reynolds. London: William Collins Sons & Co Ltd, 1984.
• Deutsches Museum. Die Spinning Jenny von James Hagreaves. Die Legende von der kleinen Jenny. Auszug aus: Meisterwerke aus dem Deutschen Museum. 4. vols. <https://www.deutsches-museum.de/sammlungen/meisterwerke/meisterwerke-iv/spinning-jenny/> (Last access: 26/01/2010).
• Harling, Nick. James Hargreaves 1720-1778. Cotton Town: Blackburn with Darwen. <http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageID=506> (Last access: 26/01/2010). Archived article: https://web.archive.org/web/20100615174155/http://www.cottontown.org/page.cfm?pageID=506.
• Spinning Jenny. The Beginning of the Machine Age. <http://www.famoushistoricalevents.net/spinning-jenny/> (Last access: 26/01/2010). Archived article: https://web.archive.org/web/20100211224734/http://www.famoushistoricalevents.net/spinning-jenny/.
• Ziegler, Dieter. "Die Industrielle Revolution." Geschichte Kompakt. Ed. Gabriele Haug-Moritz (et. al.). Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2005. [pages??]