Edmund Cartwright

Edmund Cartwright
Edmund Cartwright
Born	24 April 1743 (1743-04-24) Nottinghamshire
Died	30 October 1823 (1823-10-31) Hastings, Sussex
Resting place	Battle, Sussex
Nationality	English
Known for	Power loom
Signature

Edward (Edmund) Cartwright (24 April 1743 – 30 October 1823) was an English clergyman and inventor of the power loom.

Life and work

Born in Nottinghamshire^[1], England, Cartwright was taught at University College, Oxford and became a clergyman of the Church of England. Cartwright began his career as a clergyman, becoming, in 1779, rector of Goadby Marwood, Leicestershire; in 1783 he was a prebendary in Lincoln (Lincolnshire) cathedral.

He addressed the problem of mechanical weaving. Mechanical spinning and the factory system, were already in place. He designed the first power loom in 1784 patented it in 1785, and it proved to be incredibly valuable and useful and special. In 1789, he patented another loom which served as the model for later inventors to work upon. For a mechanically driven loom to become a commercial success, either one person would have to attend one machine, or each machine must have a greater productive capacity than one manually controlled.

He added parts to the loom, namely a positive let-off motion, warp and weft stop motions, and sizing the warp while the loom was in action. He commenced to manufacture fabrics in Doncaster using these looms,and discovered many of the shortcomings. He attempted to remedy these by: introducing a crank and eccentrical wheels to actuate the batten differentially; by improving the dicking mechanism; by a device for stopping the loom when a shuttle failed to enter a shuttle box; by preventing a shuttle from rebounding when in a box; and by stretching the cloth with temples that acted automatically. The mill was repossessed by creditors in 1793.

In 1792 Dr Cartwright obtained his last patent for weaving machinery; this provided the loom with multiple shuttle boxes for weaving checks and cross stripes. But all his efforts were unavailing; it became apparent that no mechanism, however perfect, could succeed so long as warps continued to be sized while a loom was stationary. His plans for sizing them while a loom was in operation, and also before being placed in a loom, both failed. These were resolved in 1803, by William Radcliffe, and his assistant Thomas Johnson, by their inventions of the beam warper, and the dressing sizing machine.

In 1790 Robert Grimshaw, of Gorton Manchester, erected a weaving factory at Knott Mill which he was to fill with 500 of Cartwright's power looms, but with only 30 in place, the factory was burnt down probably as an act of arson inspired by the fears of hand loom weavers. The prospect of success was not sufficiently promising to induce its re-erection.

In 1809 Cartwright obtained a grant of £10,000 from parliament for his invention.

He also patented a wool combing machine in 1789 and a cordelier (machine for making rope) in 1792. He also designed a steam engine that used alcohol instead of water.^[2]

He died in Hastings, Sussex and was buried at Battle.^[3]

Family

• His daughter Juliet (1780–1837) wrote novels under the pseudonym of Mrs Markham.

See also

• Timeline of clothing and textiles technology

Born in Nottinghamshiire[1], England, Cartwright was educated at University College, Oxford and became a clergyman of the Church of England. Cartwright began his career as a clergyman, becoming, in 1779, rector of Goadby Marwood, Leicestershire; in 1786 he was a prebendary in Lincoln (Lincolnshire) cathedral. He addressed the problem of mechanical weaving. Mechanical spinning and the factory system, were already in place. He designed the first power loom in 1784 patented it in 1785, but it proved to be valueless. In the 1786, he patented another loom which served as the model for later inventors to work upon. For a mechanically driven loom to become a commercial success, either one person would have to attend several machines, or each machine must have a greater productive capacity than one manually controlled. He added parts to the loom, namely a positive let-off motion, warp and weft stop motions, and sizing the warp while the loom was in action. He commenced to manufacture fabrics in Doncaster using these looms,and discovered many of the shortcomings. He attempted to remedy these by: introducing a crank and eccentrical wheels to actuate the batten differentially; by improving the picking mechanism; by a device for stopping the loom when a shuttle failed to enter a shuttle box; by preventing a shuttle from rebounding when in a box; and by stretching the cloth with temples that acted automatically. The mill was repossessed by creditors in 1793. In 1792 Dr Cartwright obtained his last patent for weaving machinery; this provided the loom with multiple shuttle boxes for weaving checks and cross stripes. But all his efforts were unavailing; it became apparent that no mechanism, however perfect, could succeed so long as warps continued to be sized while a loom was stationary. His plans for sizing them while a loom was in operation, and also before being placed in a loom, both failed. These were resolved in 1803, by William Radcliffe, and his assistant Thomas Johnson, by their inventions of the beam warper, and the dressing sizing machine. In 1790 Robert Grimshaw, of Gorton Manchester, erected a weaving factory at Knott Mill which he was to fill with 500 of Cartwright's power looms, but with only 30 in place, the factory was burnt down probably as an act of arson inspired by the fears of hand loom weavers. The prospect of success was not sufficiently promising to induce its re-erection. In 1809 Cartwright obtained a grant of £10,000 from parliament for his invention. He also patented a wool combing machine in 1789 and a cordelier (machine for making rope) in 1792. He also designed a steam engine that used alcohol instead of water.[2] He died in Hastings, Sussex and was buried at Battle.[3]

References

1. ^ Seymour, Charles, C. B. (1858). Self-Made Men. New York: Harper and Brothers. pp. 234 – 237. http://books.google.com/books?id=PaH8F0-HeToC&pg=PA234&dq=Edmund+Cartwright&as_brr=1#PPA234,M2. Retrieved 2008-04-21. 
2. ^ This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
3. ^ Strickland (?), M. (1843). A Memoir of the Life, Writings, and Inventions, of Edmund Cartwright, D.D. FRS, Inventor of the Power Loom, Etc. Etc.. London: Saunders and Otley. 

Further reading

Ropemaking machine of Edmund Cartwright

• Cartwright, Edmund (1772). Armine and Elvira: A Legendary Tale (3 ed.). London: John Murray. http://books.google.com/books?id=7eiGrKz4rB4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Edmund+Cartwright&as_brr=1#PPA3,M2. 

• Strickland (?), M. (1843). A Memoir of the Life, Writings, and Inventions, of Edmund Cartwright, D.D. FRS, Inventor of the Power Loom, Etc. Etc.. London: Saunders and Otley. http://books.google.com/books?id=CbQ3AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Edmund+Cartwright&as_brr=1#PPR3,M2. Retrieved 2008-04-21. 

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Edward Cartwright

• Edmund Cartwright - at Historic Figures at the BBC
• "Edmund Cartwright and the power loom" - at Cotton Times
• "Richard Arkwright and Edmund Cartwright: Inventors of Important Textile Manufacturing Machines" - at Grimshaw Origins
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.