| (1775
- 1817) |
| Inducted: |
1978 |
| Region: |
MidAtlantic |
| Industry: |
Manufacturing
|
|
Francis Cabot Lowell, father of the U.S. textile industry, visited textile mills in Scotland. Their owners guarded their production secrets, but failed to suspect that Lowell was a mechanical genius. He made mental notes of the machinery and improved upon their designs. In Boston, Lowell persuaded a small group of fellow merchants to invest in the Boston Manufacturing Company and bought a waterpower site at nearby Waltham. Lowell modified the British power loom, achieving an integrated flow of production from cotton bale to finished cloth. |
