Ericsson, John (1803-1889), was a Swedish-born American engineer. He made many improvements in heating engines, ships, and locomotives. Ericsson’s chief accomplishment was introducing screw propellers for use in place of paddle wheels on ships.
Ericsson was born on July 31, 1803, in Varmland province, Sweden. He showed great mechanical ability at an early age. From age 13 to 17, Ericsson worked as an engineering apprentice on the Gota Canal in Sweden. He then served for six years as a surveyor in the Swedish army.
In 1826, Ericsson went to London, where he attempted to develop an engine that used heated air instead of steam. This effort failed, but he succeeded with other projects. Ericsson developed improved boilers and condensers for steam engines, designed an early steam-powered locomotive, and devised a machine for automatically cutting metal files. In 1833, he began experimenting with screw propellers, and in 1837, he built the first propeller-driven commercial ship.
Ericsson came to the United States in 1839 and became a U.S. citizen in 1848. There he designed a number of vessels, including the Princeton (1844), the first propeller-driven warship. He won fame for his design and construction of the Monitor (1862), one of the earliest ironclad warships. The ship also had a revolving gun turret. Its Civil War clash with the Merrimack, then called the Virginia, marked the first battle between ironclad ships. Ericsson died on March 8, 1889.
See also Propeller; Monitor and Merrimack.
