Edmund Cartwright FSA (24 April 1743 – 30 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a political reformer and radical, and George Cartwright, explorer of Labrador.
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In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizontal weft (also called the woof) is drawn through (inserted over and under) the warp thread. In the terminology of weaving, each warp thread is called a warp end; a pick is a single weft thread that crosses the warp thread (synonymous terms are fill yarn and filling yarn).
In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution facilitated the industrialisation of the production of textile fabrics with the picking stick and the flying shuttle, the latter of which was invented by John Kay, in 1733. The mechanised power loom was patented by Edmund Cartwright in 1785, which allowed sixty picks per minute.
A power loom is a mechanized loom that automates the weaving of cloth through leveraging mechanical power. It interlaces warp and weft threads via mechanisms like cams, gears, levers, and pulleys, replicating motions previously done manually. The mechanization of weaving dramatically increased production efficiency, contributing to the rise of large-scale textile factories during the Industrial Revolution.
Though the idea is older and experimentation predates him, Edmund Cartwright is credited with initiating power loom development with his 1785 patent. His initial versions were rudimentary but they pioneered automated weaving and laid the groundwork for factory-based production. By the early 19th century, improvements had made power looms reliable and widely adopted across Europe and North America, ushering in a new era of textile manufacturing. Cartwright’s invention marked the beginning of mechanized weaving, drastically reducing reliance on skilled handweavers.
John Cartwright (17 September 1740 – 23 September 1824) was an English naval officer, Nottinghamshire Militia major and prominent campaigner for parliamentary reform. He subsequently became known as the 'Father of Reform'. His younger brother Edmund Cartwright became famous as the inventor of the power loom.