Eli Whitney

SwitzerlandinventorMaleb. 17656.0Global Dominance: 0.00%

Eli Whitney (1765-1825) was an American inventor best known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, a machine that revolutionized the cotton industry by greatly increasing the efficiency of cotton processing. His invention inadvertently led to a significant expansion of slavery in the southern United States, as the demand for cotton surged. Whitney also contributed to the development of interchangeable parts in manufacturing, which laid the groundwork for modern mass production techniques.