File:Eli_Whitney_by_Samuel_Finley_Breese_Morse_1822.jpeg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
Eli Whitney (1765–1825) was an American entrepreneur, inventor, engineer, and tax collector. Born in Westborough, he was educated at Yale College and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. His sponsor was Catherine Littlefield Greene. Whitney died in New Haven in 1825.
Whitney is recognized in the National Inventors Hall of Fame collection. He is described in sources including Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, and the New International Encyclopedia. Records indicate he had five works listed by Crossref and six by Open Library.
Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Open Library, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Key facts
- Born
- Eli Whitney Jr. , December 8, 1765 ( 1765-12-08 ) , Westborough , Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
- Died
- January 8, 1825 (1825-01-08) (aged 59), New Haven, Connecticut , U.S.
- Education
- Yale College
- Spouse
- Henrietta Frances Edwards ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1817 )
- Relatives
- Whitney family
- Projects
- Interchangeable parts cotton gin
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Eli
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Westborough
- Place of death
- New Haven
- Occupation
- politician
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Image
- Eli Whitney by Samuel Finley Breese Morse 1822.jpeg
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- Eli Whitney
- date of death
- 1825-01-08
- described by source
- New International Encyclopedia
- manner of death
- Suicide
- Commons gallery
- Eli Whitney
- Commons Creator page
- Eli Whitney
- member of
- Phi Beta Kappa Society
- sponsor
- Catherine Littlefield Greene
- name in native language
- Eli Whitney
- date of birth
- 1765-12-08
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- P12749
- Julia Eichhorn
Sources (5)
via Wikidata · CC0
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Eli Whitney Jr. (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825) was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South. Whitney's invention made upland short cotton into a profitable crop, which strengthened the economic foundation of slavery in the United States and prolonged the institution. Despite the social and economic impact of his invention, Whitney lost much of his profits in legal battles over patent infringement for the cotton gin. Thereafter, he turned his attention to securing contracts with the government in the manufacture of muskets for the newly formed United States Army. He continued making arms and inventing until his death in 1825.
Early life and education
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eli Whitney” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.