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spinning jenny
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spinning jenny
spinning jenny

spinning jenny

textiles
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James Hargreaves
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machine
spinning

spinning jenny, early multiple-spindle machine for spinning wool or cotton. The hand-powered spinning jenny was patented by James Hargreaves in 1770. The development of the spinning wheel into the spinning jenny was a significant factor in the industrialization of the textile industry, though its product was inferior to that of Richard Arkwright’s water frame.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.