Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
His invention increased the speed of the shuttle and transformed the cotton industry. In 1753 a mob of Luddites, fearful of mechanization, chased him from his home. He fled to France and there he died in poverty. [Furtado: 1001 Days] "The increase in production due to the flying shuttle exceeded the capacity of the spinning industry of the day, and prompted development of powered spinning machines, beginning with the spinning jenny and the waterframe, and culminating in the spinning mule, which could produce strong, fine thread in the quantities needed. These innovations transformed the textile industry in Great Britain. All were attacked as threats to the livelihood of spinners and weavers, and Kay's patent was largely ignored. It is often incorrectly written that Kay was attacked and fled to France, but in fact he simply moved there to attempt to rent out his looms, a business model that had failed him in England." [Wikipedia]