Eli Whitney's 1793 invention of the cotton gin changed the laborious production of cotton into a rapid process. An even more important development from Whitney was the concept of mass production, which changed manufacturing around the world. Another invention still used today is the battery developed by the French engineer Georges Leclanch?. In this volume, readers will find profiles of Whitney, Leclanch?, and other inventors of their period including Samuel Morse, John Deere, and Louis Braille. Readers are sure to be drawn in by the wide range of interesting and talented inventors.