Richard Arkwright’s genius was to perfect mechanical means of spinning thread, and then to integrate the new technologies for cleaning raw cotton fibre, spinning and weaving into a comprehensive industrial process. In effect he founded the factory system which was to transform all of human life.

Relatively little is known about the humble origins of Richard Arkwright. He was born in Preston on December 23rd 1732, the son of a tailor. He had very little education, attending only evening school in winter time—not the local Bluecoat School—and was apprenticed to a barber and wig-maker, moving to Bolton in 1750. There he set up as a barber on his own account and married on March 31st 1755, his wife dying the following year, presumably in childbirth. He married again in 1761 and with

1695 words

Citation: Clark, Robert. "Sir Richard Arkwright". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 February 2004; last revised 01 June 2005. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=150, accessed 29 March 2024.]

150 Sir Richard Arkwright 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.