Crompton, Samuel (1753-1827)

British inventor at the time of the Industrial Revolution. He invented the 'spinning mule' 1779, combining the ideas of Richard Arkwright and James Hargreaves. This span a fine, continuous yarn and revolutionized the production of high-quality cotton textiles. Crompton's invention was called the mule because it was a hybrid. It used the best from the spinning jenny and from Richard Arkwright's water frame of 1768. The strong, even yarn it produced was so fine that it could be used to weave delicate fabrics such as muslin, which became fashionable among the middle and upper classes, creating a new market for the British cotton trade. Spinning was taken out of the home and into the factories. Crompton was born near Bolton, Lancashire. He developed the spinning mule for use in his own home and had no means of patenting it, so he sold it for a small fee to local manufacturers.