John Kay and Richard Arkwright
In 1767, Richard Arkwright (wig-dealer and entrepreneur) engaged Kay's clockmaking skills in the construction of brass wheels (ostensibly for a "perpetual motion machine"). Six months later, after Kay had moved back to Warrington, Arkwright persuaded him to make a roller-based spinning-machine. Kay built a model machine for Arkwright in 1767 which became the fore-runner of the useful technology.
(Following the patent trials of the 1780s, it was variously claimed that: Arkwright had envisaged the design before meeting Kay, that Kay had stolen High's ideas, or that Kay conceived the machine as well as building it.)
After Kay's prototype convinced Arkwright of its feasibility, they moved to a secluded room in Preston, where Kay improved the technology through 1768, claiming to be developing a longitude machine. The secrecy and humming noises emanating from their experimental parlour led to accusations of witchcraft. Though Arkwright was not rich, he took Kay to Preston as a "servant", with Kay giving his bond to serve Arkwright for twenty-one years and to keep their methods secret.
They relocated to Nottingham, and in 1769 constructed the first working mill to use the new machine. Arkwright patented the machine in 1769, without mentioning Kay, his "workman". Through another Nottingham inventor, James Hargreaves, Kay learned of this patent, and told Hargreaves that it was he, Kay, who was its true inventor. Arkwright accused Kay of leaking its design to Hargreaves, and the two fell out; Kay accused Arkwright of stealing his work tools, and Arkwright filed a counter-charge. In the end, Kay fled Arkwright's Nottingham house (where he lived at the time) - permanently dissolving their relationship.
Read more about this topic: John Kay (spinning Frame)
Famous quotes containing the words john, kay and/or arkwright:
“The person who designed a robot that could act and think as well as your four-year-old would deserve a Nobel Prize. But there is no public recognition for bringing up several truly human beings.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been—and even then there are surprises. The daily newspapers raise the most frightening questions of all for a mother of sons: Could my once sweet babes ever become violent men? Are my sons really who I think they are?”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“He is no mystic, either, more than Newton or Arkwright or Davy, and tolerates none. Not one obscure line, or half line, did he ever write. His meaning lies plain as the daylight.... It has the distinctness of picture to his mind, and he tells us only what he sees printed in largest English type upon the face of things.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)