Richard Roberts
Inventor of the self-acting spinning mule
Richard Roberts (1789-1864) was a Welsh mechanical engineer, toolmaker and inventor, born at Carreghofa near Llanymynech in Montgomeryshire (now Powys), where his father worked as a shoemaker and toll-keeper on a local turnpike road. His mechanical talent showed itself early — as a boy of ten he built a working spinning wheel for his mother.
Roberts moved to London in 1814, spending two years working under the celebrated toolmaker Henry Maudslay before relocating to Manchester in 1816 and setting up his own business. In 1822 he patented a power loom made entirely of iron, precise enough to run at far higher speeds than earlier wooden looms. In 1825 he patented his most famous invention, the self-acting spinning mule, which automated much of the spinning process and transformed textile manufacturing.
Beyond textiles, Roberts made significant contributions to precision machine tools, steam engines, railway locomotives, ships' gear, lighthouses and clocks, helping to lay the foundations of modern production engineering. He died on the 11th of March, 1864.