Editing Richard Arkwright (section)

{{Short description|English inventor and entrepreneur (1732–1792)}}
{{other people|Richard Arkwright}} 
{{pp-pc1}}
{{use British English|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|honorific_prefix = [[Sir]]
| name        = Richard Arkwright
| image       = Sir Richard Arkwright by Mather Brown 1790.jpeg
| caption     = ''Sir Richard Arkwright'',<br /> oil on canvas, by [[Mather Brown]], 1790.<br /> [[New Britain Museum of American Art]], [[Connecticut]].
| birth_date = {{birth date|1732|12|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]], [[Lancashire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1792|8|3|1732|12|23|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Cromford]], [[Derbyshire]], England
| height      =
| title       = Sir Richard Arkwright
| term        =
| predecessor =
| party       = 
| boards      =
| children    = [[Richard Arkwright junior]], Susannah Arkwright
| parents     =
| relatives   =
| website     =
| signature   = Signature of Richard Arkwright (4672389).png
| footnotes   =
| spouse      = {{plainlist|
* Patience Holt, 
* Margaret Biggins
}}
| partner     =
}}

'''Sir Richard Arkwright''' (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early [[Industrial Revolution]]. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the [[spinning frame]], known as the [[water frame]] after it was adapted to use [[Hydropower|water power]]; and he patented a rotary [[carding]] engine to convert raw cotton to 'cotton lap' prior to spinning. He was the first to develop factories housing both mechanised carding and spinning operations.{{efn|[[Samuel Crompton]] was later to combine the two in his [[spinning mule]].}}

Arkwright's achievement was to combine power, machinery, semi-skilled labour and the new raw material of cotton to create mass-produced [[yarn]]. His organisational skills earned him the accolade "father of the modern industrial factory system,"<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/arkwright_richard.shtml|access-date=1 April 2017|publisher=BBC}}</ref> notably through the methods developed in his mill at [[Cromford]], [[Derbyshire]] (now preserved as part of the [[Derwent Valley Mills]] World Heritage Site).