Although the Industrial Revolution is often remembered for technological and industrial changes, it also profoundly influenced social life, political and economic institutions, and the physical landscape. The modern world as we know it would not have been possible without the discoveries and advances of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In over 150 entries that cover all aspects of this historical transformation of industry and society, this encyclopedia describes the major people, events, and inventions that defined the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the United States, and elsewhere. Besides entries that describe the specific course of the Industrial Revolution in such places as Asia, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, Russia, Spain, and the U.S., the encyclopedia offers entries on such important people as: Alexander Graham Bell; Matthew Bouldton; Thomas Malthus; Adam Smith; Flora Tristan; James Watt. Other entries cover such important inventions as: the electric dynamo; repeating rifles; sewing machines; the steam turbine; submarines; and typewriters. Other entries cover important social issues such as: child labour and child labour laws; the ecological impact of the Industrial Revolution; slavery; the Temperance Movement; urbanisation; wealth and poverty. The encyclopedia also includes 24 primary documents, a chronology, a bibliography, an extensive introduction, illustrations, and a detailed subject index.