Samuel Slater
| Samuel Slater | |
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Samuel Slater (1768–1835) popularly called "The Father of the American Industrial Revolution"
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| Born |
June 9, 1768 Belper, Derbyshire, England |
| Died | April 21, 1835 (aged 66) Webster, Massachusetts |
| Resting place | Mineral Spring Cemetery , [Pawtucket, Rhode, Island]] |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Known for | bringing the industrial revolution to the U.S. from Great Britain |
| Home town | Belper, Derbyshire, England |
| Net worth | USD $1.3 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1312th of US GNP) |
| Spouse(s) | Hannah Wilkinson Slater (1791 - her death, 1812); Esther Parkinson (1817 - his death) |
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Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System." In the UK, he was called "Slater the Traitor" because he brought British textile technology to America, modifying it for United States use. He learned textile machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry, then immigrating to the United States at the age of 21. He designed the first textile mills in the US and later went into business for himself, developing a family business with his sons. A wealthy man, he eventually owned thirteen spinning mills and had developed tenant farms and company towns around his textile mills, such as Slatersville, Rhode Island.
Samuel Slater was born in Belper, Derbyshire, England on June 9, 1768, the fifth son of a farming family of eight children. He received a basic education at a school run by a Mr. Jackson in Belper. At age ten, he began work at the cotton mill opened that year by Jedediah Strutt using the water frame pioneered by Richard Arkwright at nearby Cromford Mill. In 1782, his father died and his family indentured Samuel as an apprentice to Strutt. Slater was well trained by Strutt and, by age 21, he had gained a thorough knowledge of the organisation and practice of cotton spinning.
He learned of the American interest in developing similar machines, and he was also aware of British laws against exporting the designs. He therefore memorized as much as he could and departed for New York in 1789. Some people of Belper called him "Slater the Traitor", as they considered his move a betrayal of the town where many earned their living at Strutt's mills.
In 1789, leading Rhode Island industrialist Moses Brown moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island to operate a mill in partnership with his son-in-law William Almy and cousin Smith Brown. Almy & Brown, as the company was to be called, was housed in a former fulling mill near the Pawtucket Falls of the Blackstone River. They planned to manufacture cloth for sale, with yarn to be spun on spinning wheels, jennies, and frames, using water power. In August, they acquired a 32-spindle frame "after the Arkwright pattern," but could not operate it. At this point, Slater wrote to them offering his services.
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