CARTWRIGHT, EDMUND, was born on the 24th of April 1743, at liarnham, in the county of Nottingham. His family was ancient and highly respectable, and had suffered in its fortune on account of its attachment to the caters of Charles 1. Edmund Cartwright received the mely part of his education at Wakefield, and being intended for the church, he afterwards went to University College, Oxford, and was elected • Fellow of Magdalen College. lie afterwards held the living of Brampton, near Chesterfield, and subsequently be removed to the living of (Ioadby-Marwood in Leiceetershire. lie wrote some poetical places at so estrly i age some of which were printed anonymously. In 1770 Its ptiblithed in his own name a legendary poem, entitled 'Arteltshi and Elvin, which was received with much favonr, and soon peeved through meml editions. lie wrote afro the' Prince of Peace' and 'Son:seta to Emineot Men.' Ile was for a considerable time a contributor to the 'Monthly Itsvierw.' The duties of his calling were Isseidni varied by a literary correspondence with several eminent In the rummer of 17114, daring a visit at Matlock, happening to newt with several gentlemen from Manchester, the conversation turned upon the subject of mechanical weaving. Dr. Cartwright'a attention had never been directed to mechanical inventions, but though in his fortieth year, the impulse which his mind received from this accidental direction of its powers, enabled him by the following April to bring his first powerloom into action, which, though an extremely rude machine, soon received many valuable improvements. Its first intro
duction was opposed both by manufacturers and their workmen, owing to various prejudices ; and a mill containing 500 of his looms, the first which had been erected, was wilfully buret down. ID 1813 there were not more than 2300 power-looms in the United Kinnlem. In feet, w hen first introduced, and before various improvements were untie in it, the machine was scarcely equivalent in its results to manual labour. It is scarcely necessary to say that the power.loom is now in almost universal nee. In April 1790, Dr. Cartwright took out a patent for oombing wool; altogether he obtained ten different patents for inventions and improvements of various kinds. lo 1807 a number of the principal cottonapinnere memorialised the government on behalf of Dr. Cartwright, who had hitherto reaped little advoutago from the exercise of his inventive talents, lie also petitioned the legislature himself in support of his claims; and in 1809 parliament granted him 10,0001. for " the good service he had rendered tho public by his invention of weaving." This was a smaller sum than he had expended on his projects, but it enabled him to pass the remainder of his days in ease and comfort. Ho died on the 30th of October 1823, in the eiehty.fint year of his ago.