# Canonical recap data for Spinning Jenny Patent Granted (1764)
# Source: https://recap.at/1764/spinning-jenny
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: spinning-jenny
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1764/spinning-jenny"
title: Spinning Jenny Patent Granted
aliases:
- Hargreaves' spinning jenny
- Multi-spindle spinning frame
- Spinning jenny invention
subtitle: Hargreaves' mechanical loom multiplied textile production capacity, igniting the Industrial Revolution.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1764-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1764
decade: 1760
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialisation of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764–1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England.
summaryLong: The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame, and was one of the key developments in the industrialisation of textile manufacturing during the early Industrial Revolution. It was invented in 1764–1765 by James Hargreaves in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire in England.
lede: In 1764, James Hargreaves patented the spinning jenny in Lancashire, England—a machine that let one worker spin multiple threads at once instead of one. It was a breakthrough that turbocharged textile production and kickstarted the Industrial Revolution, though it also terrified hand-spinners who saw their livelihoods vanish.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Spinning_jenny.jpg/1280px-Spinning_jenny.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Spinning jenny"
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Inventor
  value: James Hargreaves
- label: Location
  value: Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England
- label: Patent year
  value: "1764"
- label: Initial spindles
  value: 8 spindles per machine (later versions reached 16 or more)
- label: Primary impact
  value: Increased yarn production capacity by 8x compared to hand spinning
- label: Key limitation
  value: Produced weaker thread; required hand-spinning of warp threads
timeline:
- date: 1764-01-01
  title: Spinning jenny invented
  description: James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny in Stanhill, Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, enabling one worker to spin multiple threads simultaneously.
- date: 1764-06-13
  title: Hargreaves applies for patent
  description: Hargreaves submits his patent application for the spinning jenny to British authorities.
- date: 1765-01-01
  title: Patent granted
  description: The spinning jenny patent is officially granted to James Hargreaves, securing his legal claim to the invention.
- date: 1767-01-01
  title: Machine begins spreading
  description: Textile manufacturers across Lancashire and Cheshire begin adopting spinning jennies, despite resistance from hand-spinners.
- date: 1769-01-01
  title: Hargreaves relocates
  description: Facing hostility from workers protecting hand-spinning jobs, Hargreaves moves to Nottingham to escape threatening crowds in Lancashire.
- date: 1778-01-01
  title: Hargreaves dies
  description: James Hargreaves dies in Nottingham, having seen his invention transform English textile manufacturing but never achieving major financial success.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_jenny"
  title: Spinning jenny
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The spinning jenny didn't just speed up textile manufacturing—it fundamentally rewired how goods were made, concentrating production in factories and displacing cottage workers across England. The machine became a symbol of industrial progress and the social upheaval that came with it, setting the template for how mechanization would reshape labor markets for centuries.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- scientific_breakthrough
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: James Hargreaves' spinning jenny (1764) revolutionized textile production and sparked the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
wikidataQid: Q49015
peoplesVoice:
- source: James Hargreaves, inventor
  voiceType: developer
  context: Hargreaves spoke to local Lancashire witnesses shortly after perfecting his machine in 1764-1765, defending his innovation against growing hostility from hand-spinners.
  excerpt: This engine spins multiple threads at once from a single wheel, reducing labour and cost. It is progress, not theft from honest workers.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Lancashire local records and family testimony
  publishedAt: 1765-06-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Robert Peel Sr., cotton manufacturer and MP
  voiceType: industry
  context: Peel, a leading textile entrepreneur, recognized the commercial potential and publicly endorsed the patent in Parliament and trade circles.
  excerpt: The jenny promises to render British cotton the cheapest in Europe. Our manufacturers must adopt it or fall behind Lancashire's rivals.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Parliamentary debates and manufacturing journals, circa 1765-1766
  publishedAt: 1765-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A hand-spinner from Oswaldtwistle, identity withheld
  voiceType: consumer
  context: An anonymous letter appeared in the Manchester Mercury in late 1765 voicing the fears of displaced spinners facing mechanization.
  excerpt: Our daughters and wives earn bread by their spindles. Now a single machine and one boy shall do the work of twenty souls. What becomes of us?
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 65
  attribution: Manchester Mercury, unsigned correspondence
  publishedAt: 1765-11-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Richard Arkwright, textile innovator
  voiceType: expert
  context: Arkwright, himself developing water-frame technology, commented on the jenny's significance as a watershed moment in textile mechanization.
  excerpt: Hargreaves has opened a door that cannot be closed. Multiple spindles, faster production, lower wages - the old craft is finished.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 81
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - correspondence and later biographical records
  publishedAt: 1768-03-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A magistrate of Lancashire quarter sessions
  voiceType: official
  context: Local magistrates grew concerned about social unrest as the jenny spread through cotton districts, issuing warnings in 1767-1768.
  excerpt: We have received petitions from spinners' associations. If machines displace labour without restraint, riot shall follow. The Crown must act.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Lancashire quarter sessions records
  publishedAt: 1767-05-22
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260608174523/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_jenny"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-08
  label: Spinning jenny
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_jenny"
