in 1794, Eli Whitney invented the nail forge and a violin.but the invention that made him the most successful was the cotton gin. when he graduated Yale in 1792, he wanted to become a lawyer. but then he got hired as a tutor in the south. on his way he met Catherine Greene, and went to live on her farm. and that's were he learned about cotton. his invention help make life easier by having the cotton gin remove the seeds form the cotton. back then cotton was the king so this really helped economy at that time.