Paul Moody (May 23, 1779 – July 5, 1831) was a U.S. textile machinery inventor born in Byfield, Massachusetts (Town of Newbury).

He is often credited with developing and perfecting the first power loom in America, which launched the first successful integrated cotton mill at Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1814, under the leadership of Francis Cabot Lowell and his associates.

[3] Soon after his marriage, he partnered with Ezra Worthen, Thomas Boardman and Samuel Wigglesworth to form the Amesbury Wool and Cotton Manufacturing Company.

[5] In 1814 he arrived at Waltham, Massachusetts, to supervise the setting up of machinery for a new cotton mill under Francis Cabot Lowell and The Boston Associates.

[3][4][7] In 1824 Moody developed a system of leather belting and pulleys to power machinery, which was almost exclusively used in American mills from then on.