- Ericsson, John
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born July 31, 1803, Långbanshyttan, Swed.died March 8, 1889, New York, N.Y., U.S.Swedish-U.S. naval engineer and inventor.He moved to England in 1826, where he constructed a steam locomotive (1829) and later devised a caloric engine and patented a screw propeller. He immigrated to the U.S in 1839. During the Civil War he proposed, designed, and built a novel warship, the Monitor. Its battle with the Confederacy's Merrimack led the government to place an order for many more such vessels. Wholly steam-powered and with a screw propeller and an armoured revolving turret, it set a new pattern for U.S. warships that continued until the 20th century. He later developed a torpedo and investigated solar-powered motors.
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▪ Swedish-American engineerborn July 31, 1803, Långbanshyttan, Swedendied March 8, 1889, New York, New York, U.S.Swedish-born American naval engineer and inventor who built the first armoured turret warship and developed the screw propeller.After serving in the Swedish army as a topographical surveyor, Ericsson went to London in 1826 and constructed a steam locomotive, the Novelty, for a railway competition at Rainhill, Lancashire, in 1829. The prize was won by George Stephenson (Stephenson, George)'s Rocket. Ericsson also devised a plan for placing warship engines below the waterline to protect them against shell fire. In 1833 he exhibited his caloric engine, on which he worked the rest of his life, and in 1836 he patented a screw propeller, first used in 1837 on the Francis B. Ogden, built in London. Captain Robert F. Stockton (Stockton, Robert F.), of the U.S. Navy, ordered a small iron vessel, the Robert F. Stockton, to be fitted by Ericsson with engines and screw; it reached New York City in May 1839.A few months later, Ericsson emigrated to the United States and lived the rest of his life in New York City, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1848. During the American Civil War, Ericsson's proposal to the Navy Department for a novel warship was accepted, and the Monitor was launched on January 30, 1862. Wholly steam-powered and with a screw propeller, the vessel, with its armoured revolving turret, set a revolutionary pattern for warships that continued into the 20th century. On March 9 the Monitor fought the Confederate ironclad Virginia (formerly Merrimack), leading the federal government to place an order with Ericsson for many more Monitor-type vessels; these ships played an important role in the blockade of the Confederacy. (See Battle of Monitor and Merrimack (Monitor and Merrimack, Battle of the).) In later years he developed a torpedo and investigated solar-powered motors.* * *
Universalium. 2010.