Roberts, Richard

Roberts, Richard

(born April 22, 1789, Carreghova, Montgomeryshire, Wales—died March 16, 1864, Manchester, Eng.) British inventor. He was an uneducated Welsh quarryman before he took a position with Henry Maudslay and then established his own machine-tool factory. He was one of the inventors of the metal planer, and he made important improvements to the lathe. His automatic spinning mule marked an important advance in spinning technology. He developed a screw-cutting lathe and built gear-cutting and slotting machines, railway locomotives with interchangeable parts, automatic machinery for punching holes in plate, and the first successful gas meter. Though he was said to have improved everything he touched, he was not a shrewd businessman, and he died in poverty.