Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney (1765–1825) was an American inventor best known for patenting the cotton gin in 1794, a machine that mechanized the removal of seeds from short-staple cotton and dramatically increased processing efficiency. A Yale graduate who traveled to Georgia as a tutor, Whitney later pioneered interchangeable parts manufacturing through his 1798 federal contract to produce muskets. The cotton gin's transformative effect on cotton production paradoxically expanded the institution of slavery in the American South rather than reducing it, as soaring demand for cotton increased the need for enslaved labor.