Engineer; born in Wermeland,
Sweden, July 31, 1803.
He became an eminent engineer in his own country, and attained the rank of captain in the Swedish army.
In 1826 he visited
England with a view to the introduction of his invention of a flame engine.
He engaged actively in mechanical pursuits, and made numerous inventions, notably that of artificial draft, which is still used in locomotive engines.
He won the prize offered by the
Manchester and Liverpool Railway for the best locomotive, making one that attained the then astonishing speed of 50 miles an hour.
He invented the screw propeller for navigation, but the
British admiralty being unwilling to believe in its capacity and success,
Ericsson came to the
United States in 1839, and resided in the
city of New York or its immediate vicinity till his death.
In 1841 he was engaged in the construction of the United States ship-ofwar
Princeton, to which he applied his propeller.
She was the first steamship
ever built with the propelling machinery under the water-line and out of reach of shot.
In 1840 he received the gold medal of the Mechanics' Institute of New York for the best model of a steam fire-engine, and constructed the first one seen in the
United States. King Oscar of
Sweden made him
Knight of the Order of Vasa in 1852.
He accomplished many things in mechanical science after he settled in New York.
He invented and constructed the
Monitor, which fought the
Merrimac (also known as the
Virginia), and revolutionized the entire science of naval warfare.
At the time of his death he was perfecting an engine to be run by solar rays.
He died in New York City, March 8, 1889, and his remains were sent to his native land in the United States cruiser
Baltimore.
