Lieven Bauwens

Entrepreneur, industrial spy

Lieven Bauwens (14 June 1769, in Ghent – 17 March 1822, in Paris) was a Belgian entrepreneur and industrial spy who was sent to Great Britain at a young age and brought a spinning mule and skilled workers to the European continent.

He started textile plants in Paris (1799) and Ghent (1800).In Ghent he was also mayor for one year.As a leading industrial, he was visited by Napoleon in 1810 and awarded the Legion d'Honneur.

He is remembered in Flanders for bringing the textile industry, and thereby the Industrial Revolution, there.The spinning mule that was brought to Ghent can still be visited, in the .