Joseph Marie Jacquard

Joseph Marie Jacquard was born in Lyon, France on July 7, 1752. As a young boy he worked in a silk mill like many boys his age. His first job was as a draw-boy. This job consisted of moving the threads on the loom into the correct places at a certain time to create a certain pattern. It was extremely difficult. He usually worked 10-12 hours a day.  As a teenager he was na apprintice to a bookbinder and was skillful in many other trades. When his parents died they left him their weaving business.

Jacquard Loom 

In 1804 Joseph Marie Jacquard invented what is today called the Jacquard Loom. "In the Jacquard Loom, a specific combination of holes punched in a row through an individual card allowed selected sprung rods or needles to pass through the card and pick up certain threads. The connected cards create a continuous loop allowing for repeated patterns; when all the cards have been used, the sequence begins again"(Encyclopedia of World Biography). This machine was mostly used for very complex patterns.The use of a draw-boy was no longer needed. The workers that the loom replaced grew angry and many times destroyed his looms. Jacquard himslef suffered many violent injuries.

Charles Babbage later used the punch-card system to create the first computer.

Works Cited

1. Ellis, Elizabeth G., and Anthony Esler. World History. Needham, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005.

2. "Joseph Marie Jacquard." Book Rags. 2005-2006. Thomas Corperation. 8 November, 2007. <http://www.bookrags.com/biography/joseph-marie-jacquard/>.

3. Karwatka, Dennis. Connecting Civilization:The Growth of Communication. Ann Arbor, MI: Prakken Publications, 2003.

4. n.d. 31 Oct. 2007 <http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/jacquard.htm>.