During the Industrial Revolution, who among the following designed the 'flying shuttle loom'?
- A.Samuel Crompton
- B.Edmund Cartwright
- C.John Kay
- D.Richard Arkwright
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, John Kay. John Kay, an English inventor, patented the flying shuttle in 1733, one of the first machines of the Industrial Revolution.
Before the flying shuttle, a weaver passed the shuttle carrying the weft thread across the loom by hand, so a wide cloth needed two workers. Kay's shuttle ran on wheels and was struck from side to side by a cord, letting one weaver make wide cloth much faster. Weaving now outran spinning, and the shortage of yarn pushed inventors to build faster spinning machines, which set off the chain of textile inventions in Britain.
A is wrong because Samuel Crompton built the spinning mule in 1779, which combined two earlier spinning machines.
B is wrong because Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom in 1785, a loom driven by water or steam power.
D is wrong because Richard Arkwright developed the water frame in 1769 and set up some of the first factories.
Exam tip: Kay, flying shuttle (1733); Hargreaves, spinning jenny; Arkwright, water frame; Crompton, mule; Cartwright, power loom.
Practice Questions
View allThe ancient Indian medical treatise for horses called Ashvashastra is attributed to which one of the following persons?
- A.Vagbhatta of the seventh century
- B.The sage Shalihotra
- C.Bhartrihari of the seventh century
- D.Varahamihira of the sixth century
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Indian tradition credits Shalihotra with the science of horses, and veterinary medicine for horses came to be called Shalihotra Shastra after him.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements with reference to Jainism: 1. Vardhamana Mahavira attained Kaivalyajnana outside the town of Jrimbhikagrama, on the banks of river Rijupalika and in the field of a householder named Samaga. 2. The state when the Karma particles actually begin to flow towards the Jiva to bind it is known as Asrava. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
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Both statements match the Jaina tradition: the place of Mahavira's enlightenment and the meaning of asrava. Mahavira left home at about thirty and spent some twelve years in hard penance.
Read the full explanation →Arrange the following foreign travellers to India in chronological order, beginning with the earliest : 1. Peter Mundy 2. Antonio Monserrate 3. Afanasii Nikitich Nikitin 4. Ibn Battuta Select the answer using the code given below:
- A.2-1-4-3
- B.2-3-4-1
- C.4-3-2-1
- D.3-4-1-2
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Ibn Battuta came in the 14th century, Nikitin in the 15th, Monserrate in the 16th and Peter Mundy in the 17th.
Read the full explanation →In the Harappan Civilization, traces of canals have been found at
- A.Banawali
- B.Lothal
- C.Shortughai
- D.Dholavira
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Shortughai, a Harappan trading settlement in north-eastern Afghanistan, is the site where traces of irrigation canals have been found. Most Harappan farmers relied on river floods and wells, and no canals have been found in the Indus heartland.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following was the first non-official member to be elected as Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly on 24-8-1925?
- A.Vithalbhai J Patel
- B.Muhammad Yakub
- C.G. V. Mavalankar
- D.Sardar Hukum Singh
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On 24 August 1925 Vithalbhai Patel became the first elected Indian (non-official) President, or Speaker, of the Central Legislative Assembly.
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