INVENTOR

Eli Whitney

1765 - 1825

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Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States and prolonged the institution. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost much of his profits in legal battles over patent infringement for the cotton gin. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Eli Whitney is the 23rd most popular inventor (up from 33rd in 2019), the 254th most popular biography from United States (up from 311th in 2019) and the 4th most popular American Inventor.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Eli Whitney ranks 23 out of 426Before him are Rudolf Diesel, Cai Lun, Nicéphore Niépce, Karl Ferdinand Braun, George Stephenson, and Hans Lippershey. After him are Lee de Forest, Bartolomeo Cristofori, Werner von Siemens, John Logie Baird, Denis Papin, and Thomas Newcomen.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1765, Eli Whitney ranks 4Before him are William IV of the United Kingdom, Pope Gregory XVI, and Nicéphore Niépce. After him are Pyotr Bagration, Robert Fulton, Jacques MacDonald, Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt, Karl Ludwig Harding, Charles Felix of Sardinia, Carl Ludwig Willdenow, and Emma, Lady Hamilton. Among people deceased in 1825, Eli Whitney ranks 7Before him are Jacques-Louis David, Alexander I of Russia, Antonio Salieri, Daniel D. Tompkins, Henri de Saint-Simon, and Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. After him are Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Pauline Bonaparte, Henry Fuseli, Jean Paul, Dmitry Bortniansky, and Laskarina Bouboulina.

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Others Deceased in 1825

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Eli Whitney ranks 254 out of 20,380Before him are Lee Harvey Oswald (1939), Thomas Kuhn (1922), Cameron Diaz (1972), Olympias (-375), Barry White (1944), and Charlton Heston (1923). After him are Sigourney Weaver (1949), Joseph Heller (1923), Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866), John Holmes (1944), Ben Affleck (1972), and Robert Andrews Millikan (1868).

Among INVENTORS In United States

Among inventors born in United States, Eli Whitney ranks 4Before him are Thomas Edison (1847), Henry Ford (1863), and Samuel Morse (1791). After him are Lee de Forest (1873), Jimmy Wales (1966), Samuel Colt (1814), Bob Kahn (1938), Herman Hollerith (1860), Robert Fulton (1765), Steve Wozniak (1950), and George Westinghouse (1846).