Ericsson, John

Ericsson, John (1803–1889), engineer and inventor.Born in Sweden, Ericsson left for England in 1826 seeking sponsorship for his ideas. In 1829, his locomotive Novelty, with a forced‐draft boiler, reached a speed of 50 miles an hour. And in 1837, his Francis B. Ogden successfully tested a new marine propeller. Another Novelty (1839) was the first propeller‐driven commercial vessel. Yet Ericsson failed to interest the British Admiralty.

In 1841, Capt. Robert F. Stockton, USN, had him work for the navy designing the USS Princeton, the first screw‐propelled naval steamer. All of its propulsion machinery was below the waterline, safe from enemy shot. Ericsson developed a stronger gun barrel using wrought iron. The Princeton's main battery consisted of two 12‐inch wrought‐iron smoothbore guns, Ericsson's “Oregon” and Stockton's similar but weaker “Peacemaker.” In 1844, during a dignitary cruise, the Peacemaker exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and several others.

At London's Great Exhibition in 1851, seven of his inventions on display earned him a prize medal.

Ericsson's ironclad Monitor, with the first revolving iron turret on a naval ship, sparked a naval ordnance revolution. It fought the CSS Virginia (the former USS Merrimack) to a draw on 9 March 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads and brought its inventor fame. Yet the earlier Princeton disaster was a factor in not using powder charges heavy enough to disable the Virginia.

In 1878, Ericsson's Destroyer, designed to fire underwater torpedoes from a 16‐inch gun mounted in its bow, failed the navy's acceptance. He invented a successful shipboard depthfinder and surface condensers for marine engines, as well as pioneering solar energy. His marine steam and screw propulsion system brought the age of sail to a close.

Bibliography

Ruth Morris White , Yankee from Sweden, 1960.

George E. Buker