James Hargreaves James Hargreaves James Hargreaves (c. 1720 – 22 April 1778) was a weaver, carpenter and inventor in Lancashire, England. He was one of three inventors responsible for mechanising spinning. Hargreaves is credited with inventing the spinning jenny in 1764, Richard Arkwright patented the water frame in 1769, and Samuel Crompton combined the two creating the spinning mule in 1779. James Hargreaves was born at Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire. He was described as "stout, broadest man of about five-foot ten, or rather more". He was illiterate and worked as a hand loom weaver during most of his life. He married and
Spinning wheel Spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibres. Spinning wheels were first used in India, between 500 and 1000 A.D. Spinning machinery, such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution. The spinning wheel was invented in India, between 500 and 1000 A.D. The earliest clear illustrations of the spinning wheel come from Baghdad (drawn in 1234), China ("c." 1270) and Europe ("c." 1280), and there is evidence that spinning wheels had already come into use in both China and the Islamic world