Thomas Ainsworth

Thomas Ainsworth ( born December 22, 1795 in Bolton -le-Moors, Lancashire, England; † February 13th 1841 in Hellendoorn ) was an English engineer, who founded the textile industry in the Netherlands.

In the 1820s he worked as an engineer for the Cockerill steelworks in Seraing, near Liege. He was anxious to invent more efficient production methods. Wallonia, located in Liege, belonged to the Netherlands. As 1830, the Belgian revolution broke out, he dodged into the northern Netherlands, where he devoted himself to the improvement of weaving. He developed a faster method for hand weaving, and supported by government measures, he founded a weaving school in Goor (municipality Hof van Twente). Rich people in the region asked him land and buildings available, where he founded weavings with about 85 looms: the first textile factory. Ainsworth was opponents of the use of steam engines, because thereby he feared a mass unemployment. In this respect he is not a part owner of the industrial revolution. Its use, even for the well-being of the workers is still very much appreciated.