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Eli Whitney

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Inventor

The Resume

    (December 8, 1765-January 8, 1825)
    Invented the Cotton Gin (1794)
    First to invent a machine that manufactured identical parts for weapons

Why he might be annoying:

    He charged 40% of the sale price for all the cotton that went through his cotton gin.
    Southerners felt the 40% price was extortion and started pirating his machinery, which was a violation of his patent.
    They spread rumors that his gin was inferior, destroyed product and that he stole the cotton gin from them.
    Georgia refused to honor Whitney's patent so he gave up and left his partnership, 'Miller and Whitney' (1797).
    Miller continued the fight alone and convinced Whitney to come back and fight for his patent rights (1801).

Why he might not be annoying:

    At 11 years old, he was the oldest of four children, when his mother died.
    Despite being poor, he graduated Yale but was penniless.
    He accepted the job of teaching in the South and moved to Georgia.
    In Georgia, he found that his salary was half of what was promised, so he needed a way to generate money.
    He invented a machine that can remove seed from cotton (1794).
    By 1801, Miller and Whitney won contracts with South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina to use their cotton gin.
    He conceived of the idea to use machinery to build identical and interchangeable parts.
    Given a government contract, he built machinery that manufactured weapon parts and made identical guns.
    Nearing the end of his life, he suffered with an enlarge prostate and built a catheter that relieve him of much pain.

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 25 Votes: 52.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 267 Votes: 61.42% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 46.67% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 32 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 8 Votes: 12.50% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 150 Votes: 57.33% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 34 Votes: 41.18% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 48 Votes: 35.42% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 157 Votes: 44.59% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 122 Votes: 47.54% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 257 Votes: 42.41% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 295 Votes: 43.39% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 642 Votes: 42.83% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 1703 Votes: 42.10% Annoying
    In 2001, Out of 4319 Votes: 47.35% Annoying