John Kay (spinning frame)

Not to be confused with John Kay of Bury who invented the flying shuttle.

John Kay was an English inventor best known for the development of the spinning frame in 1767, which marked an important stage in the development of textile manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. Born in Warrington in Lancashire, England,[1] Kay was at least the co-constructor of the first spinning frame, and was a claimant to having been its inventor. He is sometimes confused with the unrelated John Kay from Bury, Lancashire, who had invented the flying shuttle, a weaving machine, some thirty years earlier.[a]

  1. ^ Musson, A. E.; Robinson, E. (June 1960). "The Origins of Engineering in Lancashire". The Journal of Economic History. 20 (2). Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association: 209–233. doi:10.1017/S0022050700110435. JSTOR 2114855.
  2. ^ "How Products Are Made". Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  3. ^ Espinasse (2010), p. 338.


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