Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-03-21
A GREAT INVENTOR DEAD.
Capt. Ericsson, the Famous Engineer
Passed Away.
A Remarkable Career.

Capt. John Ericsson, the famous Swedish
engineer who designed the iron-c clad Mont
tor and launched her complete in 100 d lys,
died in New York March :. He had been
i'll for only one week chen physician was
called in. Owing to his advanced age Mr..
Ericsson failed TO rally
Capt. John Ericsson was born July, 81,
1903, in the province of Wermeland, Swe-
den. His father was proprietor Of mines
his brother Baron Nils Ericsson, became
chief Of Swedish railways. John was made
| n cadet OF engineers when l2 years Of age.
| Two years before that he had constructed
a miniature saw mill and pumping machine
| that attracted attention ia Sweden. At IL
he entered the army and in 1897 was pro
NOTED captain by King Charles John der
nadotte.) In 1926 he constructed "A fame
engine and went TO London to introduce
! il, and while there resigned his position in
| the Swedish army. He produced, in rapid
succession, AN instrument for sea-soundings
hydros'atic weighing, machine
and numerous other devices. in
| Guiding tubular steam boiler.
In 1929 he competed with Stephenson for
the historical London & Manchester rail
way prize, for which he built the locomo-
| tive "Novelty," that was said 70 excel fin
| ligntness eleg nee and speed all other com
| petitors, but Stephenson's proved superior
| in point of traction. The same year he in
vented a steam fire engine. In 1888 ne con
structed the famous calOric engine, and in
| 1853 the ship Ericsson OF 2,000tOns propell
ell by this motor A sea trial from New
York TO Washington and back established
great economy in fuel, but at a speed too
low to compete with steam. In 1886 Erics-
son invented and patented the screw pro-
peller which has revolutionized navigation
In 1897 he built n screw vessel which lowed
the American packet ship Toronto OH the
Thames. During his early life he was 10
Europe what Edison is 20 America. He
invented in three years forty different
mechanical coutrivances, Wo-thirds of
which were patented.
In 1889 Capt, Ericsson was invited to
visit America. He came at once, and in
1871 he designed for the United States gov
eminent the screw propeller warship
Princeton, with machinery placed below
the water line. This, the pioneer of screw
warships, carried IL inch wrought iron
gun, designed by Ericsson. also a wrought
iron gun carriage that TOOK mp the recoil
without broeching. He contributed several
valuable inventions to the London exhibit
ton of 1851, including "a pyrOmeter, an
alarm barometer, a sea-lead and other phil
OsOphical instruments. In 1884 he offered
the plan of a turret vessel "a Napoleon Ill,
and in 1861 built for the United States gov
eminent in 100 days the IRON clad Monitor,
which on March q, 1862, defeated in Hamp.
ton Roads, the confederate iron clad Merri-
mac that had just destroyed the Cumber-
lullu anu AtIBItsH anu WAS dboub OutSblb1
the rest of the wooden feet. The Monitor
and the Princeton practiC ally revO-
lutionized warshp building and caused
the recon structjon OF the fleets of the
world. Other monitors quickly followed
the first one and won many naval bait es,
and Ericsson's system was taken up by the
naval powers of Europe and carried out on
large scale. His lutcst war vessel, the
Destroyer, carries a submarine lG-inch gun
which discharges 500 pounds of gun cotton
in !, 800 pound prolectile egairst "a iron
| clad's hull beneath the armOT belt.
Ericsson later scientific studies include
computations of the influences that retard
the earth's rotary motion, and the intensity
of solar heat. His sun-motor. erected in
| 1883, develops steady power, obtained from
| the inexhaustible supply Of direct mechani-
cal energy stored up in the sun. This motor
is not paten,ei, being intended by the de.
| signer as = contribution TO applied science.
! The varie's u Capt EricssOn's work is
| only less remarkable than its intrinsic i'm
portince. His Inventive genius has brought
out new discoveries in every department Of
| mechanics and he Ges received honors from
| every country of tho world.