What was richard arkwright famous for

From , a series of court cases challenged Arkwright's patents as copies of others work, and they were revoked in Nonetheless, Arkwright was knighted in and by the time of his death on 3 August , Arkwright had established factories in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Scotland, and was a wealthy man. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.

Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. If you think about the Industrial Revolution then it is very likely that the name Richard Arkwright will spring to mind. This Preston born inventor and self-made man was a leading entrepreneur during the industrial period. Born to a tailor and Preston Guild burgess in , Richard was the youngest of seven surviving children and was taught by a cousin to read and write.

After being apprenticed to a barber in Kirkham he set up his own barber and wig-making shop in Bolton in the early s. It was whilst working here that he invented a waterproof dye for use on periwigs.

It was typical of his aggressive entrepreneurship that he was one of the first to apply the steam engine to his mills. While such a concentration of machines, driven by a prime mover, was not a new invention, Arkwright's rationalization of the factory system was nevertheless to become one of the most characteristic features of the industrial revolution.

Wealth and honors, including the bestowal of knighthood, came to him in the s. He died in Nottingham on Aug. Fitton and A. Wadsworth, The Strutts and the Arkwrights, Supplementary accounts of Arkwright's work may be found in T. Ashton, The Industrial Revolution: ; rev. Pursell, Jr. Fitton, R.