Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney
Whitney in 1822
Born	December 8, 1765 (1765-12-08) Westborough, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	January 8, 1825 (1825-01-09) (aged 59) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Education	Yale College
Occupation	Engineer
Children	4
Parent(s)	Eli Whitney, Elizabeth Fay
Relatives	Whitney family
Engineering career
Projects	Interchangeable parts, cotton gin
Signature

Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.^[1]

Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States and prolonged the institution. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost much of his profits in legal battles over patent infringement for the cotton gin. Thereafter, he turned his attention to securing contracts with the government in the manufacture of muskets for the newly formed United States Army. He continued making arms and inventing until his death in 1825.