Kay, John (1704–c. 1780)

English inventor who developed the flying shuttle, a machine to speed up the work of hand-loom weaving. He patented his invention in 1733.

Kay was born near Bury, Lancashire, and may have been educated in France. He invented many kinds of improved textile machinery, but was ruined by lawsuits in defence of his flying-shuttle patent. In 1753 his house in Bury was wrecked by a mob, who feared the use of machinery would cause unemployment. Kay left the country, and had some success introducing the flying shuttle to France, but is believed to have died there in poverty.

In 1730 he was granted a patent for an ‘engine’ for twisting and carding mohair, and for twining and dressing thread. At about the same time he improved the reeds for looms by manufacturing the ‘darts’ of thin polished metal instead of cane.

Up to that time the shuttle had been passed by hand from side to side through alternate warp threads. In weaving broadcloth two workers had to be employed to throw the shuttle from one end to the other. With Kay's flying shuttle, the amount of work a weaver could do was more than doubled, and the quality of the cloth was also improved.