Eli Whitney is another famous inventor. He was born in 1765. He
is known as the inventor of the cotton gin.
Years ago, when cotton was harvested , the fiber, or lint, had to be separated
from the seed by hand. People could not separate much cotton in a day.
Eli saw that a machine to separate the seed and lint from cotton could
make the South rich and the inventor rich, too. He set to work at once
and began building one. He finally patented his machine in 1794. Whitney
did make the South some money. Other planters refused to pay for the patent
and Whitney's business failed. He later invented other inventions to help
farmers but never tried to patent them. Check out the illustrations
of his famous invention.
 The cotton gin saved the cotton industry in the United States. |
 It was said the cotton gin could do the work of 50 men. |
Research other great inventors at http://inventors.about.com
