Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), English inventor and industrialist, born at Preston in Lancashire. Inventor in 1769 of the spinning frame (water frame). In 1771, in partnership with Jeddiah Strutt, he built the first water-powered cotton mill at Cromford, Derbyshire. His innovations contributed significantly to the Industrial Revolution and he died one of the richest men in England. Engraving after the portrait by Joseph Wright of Derby. From The Gallery of Portraits, Vol V, by Charles Knight (London, 1835).