Everett Griner talks about who was the real inventor of the cotton gin in today’s Agri View.
Agri View: Who Invented the Cotton Gin?
One of the largest crops we grow in this country is cotton. It is also one of the most exported crops we grow. How much 
cotton do you suppose farmers would plant if we didn’t have Eli Whitney’s invention? The cotton gin. Wait for a minute. Did Whitney actually invent the cotton gin? Well, he received a patent in the late 1700’s. Before patents were even issued a permit for some sort of machine that removed cotton seed was given to another man. It wasn’t called a gin, but it performed the same job. From the historical report, that I read, I think the difference in the first machine and Whitney’s gin was the amount of seed it would remove at a given period of time. Obviously, Whitney’s gin worked better. So, always, Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin.
That’s Agri View for today. I’m Everett Griner…
Image Credits (top right): African American slaves using a cotton gin. Wood engraving after a drawing by William L. Sheppard from HARPER’S WEEKLY 1869 with modern watercolor / By Everett Historical/Shutterstock
(bottom left) Eli Whitney (1765-1825) / By Everett Historical/Shutterstock