English
engineer who is generally regarded as the founder of the European textile-machinery
industry. He was mainly active in Russia and Belgium.
Cockerill was born in Lancashire. His working career began with the building
of spinning jennies and flying shuttles. In 1794 he went to St Petersburg,
Russia, and enjoyed the patronage of Catherine II. Her successor, however,
imprisoned Cockerill for failing to complete a contract within the given
time. Eventually he escaped via Sweden to Belgium 1799, where he established
himself as a manufacturer of textile machinery, first in Verviers and
from 1807 in nearby Liège. There, together with his three sons
William, Charles, and John, he made rotary carding machines, spinning
frames, and looms for the French woollen industry. |