Jacques de Vaucanson

Jacques de Vaucanson (born February 24, 1709, Grenoble, France—died November 21, 1782, Paris) French inventor of automatons. He also invented an automatic loom that inspired that of Joseph-Marie Jacquard, as well as flexible rubber tubing and the chain drive.

Educated at the Jesuit College of Grenoble, Vaucanson developed a liking for machinery at an early age, first in Lyon and later in Paris. In 1738 he constructed an automaton, “The Flute Player,” followed the next year by “The Tambourine Player” and “The Duck.” The last was especially noteworthy, imitating various movements of a live duck including the motions of drinking, eating, and defecating. For the duck’s digestive system, he invented the flexible rubber tube.

Appointed inspector of silk manufacture in 1741, Vaucanson’s attention was drawn to the problems of mechanization of silk weaving. Several of his improvements were adopted by the industry, but his most important invention was ignored for several decades. Taking into account the inventions of his predecessors, he succeeded in automating the loom by means of perforated cards that guided hooks connected to the warp yarns. Power was to be supplied by falling water or by animals. In 1770 he invented the chain drive. After Vaucanson’s death, his loom was reconstructed and improved by Joseph-Marie Jacquard and became one of the most important inventions of the Industrial Revolution.

To build his machines, Vaucanson invented many machine tools of permanent importance. Toward the end of his life, he collected his own and others’ inventions in what became in 1794 the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (Conservatory of Arts and Trades) in Paris; it was there that Jacquard found his automatic loom.