Eli Whitney

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Portrait and signature of Eli Whitney printed in The Life of Eli Whitney.

Eli Whitney (1765-1825): The Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney was an inventor, mechanical engineer, and manufacturer of equipment.  Although he is best remembered as the inventor of the cotton gin, his development and demonstration of mass production based on the use of interchangeable parts was a revolutionary advance in America’s industrialization.  Whitney designed the cotton gin, patenting his final design concept in 1794.  As a result of the ease of pirating his design concepts, Whitney and his partners were unable to defend and profit from his patents in the years preceding the patents’ expiration in 1807. Whitney also made muskets. Although it took more than ten years to develop the supply chain, machine tools and other equipment needed for the mass production of muskets (which had historically been custom produced one at a time), Whitney was able to plan and execute a successful demonstration in front of president-elect Thomas Jefferson and other government officials in 1801 as they assembled complete muskets from randomly selected interchangeable parts.

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The design for Whitney's tomb which would be placed in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut. 

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