Image Gallery
Whitney's Cotton Gin
A cotton gin (machine), invented by Eli Whitney (1765-1825) in the United States in 1794 during the Industrial Revolution. The machine was used to clean raw cotton and separate it from sticky seeds by pulling the cotton balls through a comb mesh and mechanism of revolving metal teeth and hooks. The machine greatly speeded up cotton production for spinning machines since a single cotton gin could process up to 25 kg (55 lbs) of cotton every day. Another consequence was the increased use of slaves to pick sufficient cotton to feed the gins.
Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, Connecticut, USA