Richard Arkwright, British inventor of textile machinery, 1790.

Engraving by J Jenkins after a painting of 1790 by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), and signed by Richard Arkwright. This is taken from 'A History of the Cotton Manufacture' by Edward Baines, published by Fisher, Son & Co, London, 1835. Arkwright (1732-1792) was the inventor of the first practical means of mechanical spinning using rollers. The invention of the spinning machine revolutionised the production of yarn and led to rapid mechanisation throughout Britain. Although Arkwright's first installation was worked by a horse, water wheels were generally used, so the spinning machines came to be called water frames.