Who were the significant inventors during the Industrial Revolution? What did they invent?

There are many famous inventors, scientists, and engineers that can played critical roles in what we know of as the Industrial Revolution; but three British men especially stand out.

James Watt (1736-1819) took the first primitive steam engine mine pumps of Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729) and greatly refined and improved them. While wind and water power had been known for many centuries, Watt's work made steam power far more reliable and useable, allowing coal and steam to power hundreds of mechanical applications.

Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) took Watt's engines and refined them further, greatly increasing their power and made the first locomotives and steamships possible.

George Stephenson (1781-1848) was the third of this set of British engineers and inventors, and is generally regarded as the "grandfather of railroads",

With steam to power machinery like looms, lathes, bores and presses, industrial applications soon followed and made more goods more cheapily available; while steam locomotives and steam ships revolutionized transport.

Some significant inventors during the Industrial Revolution include:

1. James Watt - Invented the improved steam engine.
2. Eli Whitney - Invented the cotton gin.
3. Henry Bessemer - Developed the Bessemer process for mass-producing steel.
4. Thomas Edison - Invented the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, and numerous other devices.
5. Alexander Graham Bell - Invented the telephone.
6. George Stephenson - Developed the first practical steam locomotive for railways.
7. Samuel Morse - Invented the telegraph and Morse code.
8. Richard Arkwright - Invented the spinning frame for textile manufacturing.
9. John Kay - Invented the flying shuttle for weaving.
10. Robert Fulton - Developed the first commercially successful steamboat.