THEME Science, engineering and innovation
The Age of Reason…dawns
The dawning of the age of reason, how would it impact on our families lives and those of the communities our relatives lived in…
Read MoreJames Watt and the Industrial Revolution 1774
James Watt and the Industrial Revolution The inventor of the first practical and it should be said, economical steam engine was James Watt, an instrument maker from Glasgow who saw the problems with earlier engines such as Newcomen’s engine. A man with a fastidious eye for details, Watt saw the potential to improve the engine…
Read MoreCaptain James Cook Mariner Navigator born 1728 Yorkshire
Where was Capt James Cook born in 1728 and what led to his distinguished naval career pioneering navigation…did your relatives know him, was your family connected and did any of your family sail with him on his famous expeditions, see our series of James Cook posts…
Read MoreCaptain Cook 1728 – 1779
An amazing wealth of geographical and scientific knowledge resulted from the expeditions undertaken by Captain Cook and his crew. They were pivotal in advancing Britain’s colonial aspirations
Read MoreNorthampton and the First Cotton Spinning Mill 1742
The first cotton spinning mill was built in Northamptonshire in 1742 but just what effect did mass production of yarns in the textile industry bring to those working in cottage industries, how did they cope?
Read MoreSilk making machinery 1745
The silk making machinery of Jacques de Vaucanson revolutionized French silk production but ironically held back the French industrial revolution because of the Luddite attitudes of the French workers.
Read MoreJohn Kay 1753-54 House destroyed by machine breakers…keeps inventing
John Kay Inventor persecuted and house destroyed by machine breakers, he didn’t give-up and kept inventing, now that’s entrepreneurial against the odds…and was this the start of organised labour and uprisings?
Read MoreJohn Kay Inventor of the Flying Shuttle
The costs to John Kay inventor of the flying shuttle were significant, as they were to the workers who lost their jobs as a result of mechanisation but his tenacious approach in the face of adversity is part of what made the inventors, visionaries and entrepreneurs of the Industrial Revolution brilliant.
Read MoreFlying shuttle – What is it?
Just what was the flying shuttle and why did it have such an impact on the lives of our ancestors? A simple invention that produced incredible results. A great example of the speed of change during the Industrial Revolution.
Read MoreCharles Dickens knew Florence Nightingale
We so often study the lives of famous people and their activities in isolation, what is intriguing is when you find how the lives of these people were meshed together
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