1755-1814

American plantation owner who financed Eli Whitney's cotton gin. Greene invited Whitney to Mulberry Grove, her Savannah, Georgia, home, and suggested that he invent a machine to remove seeds from cotton bolls. For six months, Greene provided Whitney with materials and money. She even placed a brush on the gin's teeth to sweep away lint. Greene insisted that Whitney file for a patent himself because of public disapproval of women inventors. The cotton gin dramatically increased Southern antebellum agricultural production.