Eli Whitney was born in Massachusetts to Eli Whitney, Sr. and Elizabeth. His father was a well-to-do famer. Though he grew up on a farm, but he was inclined towards machinery and technology from an early age.
Whitney’s mother died when he was 11 and his stepmother was against his further studies in a university. He started a nail manufacturing function during Revolutionary War and worked as a farmer and a school teacher to make money.
Whitney attended the Yale College and graduated in 1792, and worked hard to become a lawyer. After graduation, he started to tutor in South Carolina as he lacked funds to become a lawyer.