The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-03-09
ERICSSON Is DEAD.
He Made and Unmade the
Worlds Naries.
THE EDISON or rHEoID WORLD
His Genius Shewn When Little
Boy-The Screw rrepeller-
The Monitors Mission.

NEW fnEk. March S--Cspt John Erie.
son, the engineer. died this fnnrnfni
sTei $. He hsd hsen liz caav q week.
lJonn Ericsson Eas enc OF the world
greatest inventors. lie was born u Weir,
land. Sweden. Jnfv 81. lS.S HIS fashe
was mining proprietor. and his hrpths
WAS colonel OF engineers azc became ehls
OF tAe Swedish railways As a boy, gohl
ha1 arapse opportunity OF watching ma
chinery connected with mines. aud hl
mechanical talent was early sieyefoaed
lie received his earliest lnsfraes5.a fror,
swedish Soycrness and German enxis.
esring otleer who had served under Re;
nadokte. Befort he was IL years OF are h
lad constructed with bis own hands, an.
aiser hls own plans. T1iniafHEe sawnIII
sns had made numerous drawings ef eon,
rllcatsd mechanical devices These es
fcEts having attracted the attention q
G3uns Piatert, this celebrated engineer 4 !,
pointed him cadet Ia the corps Of me
ehanical engineers. and. asfer SIX mouths
tuition. be Was III s6e a ieveier 81 the CRANE
Swedish ship canal. then IN course os Goa
sfructioR- Two years later, at the age o
IA, be was employed TO set cBt the work az
a section employing 600 soldier operatives
and occupied his leisure in making draw
iugs OF every implement aud machine con
nected with the canal
He entered the Swedish army as ensign
in 1Sa0, aud was rapidly promoted fo /
heulenancy. shortly afserwari, he passed
wltn distinction competitive exsraina
ton for 81 app intinent on the survey ei
Northern sweden. Notwithssanding the
labor attendant upon his duties as sur
yey0r. he undertook 10 make drawings for
work ON canals. and to eagraye the
plates in the style OF what was known As
machine engraving he devised line
engraving ma hine, By means of which,
Afsa b. 90. -. .
copper plates. which experts pronounced
10 be of superior merit
When about " years old he constructed
q condenSing. Eane engins OF ten-h0r<e
power. aud In lS26 went 70 England to su-
fToduce It, bat il was not successful, In
ls27 he resigned his commission in the
swedish army, after promotion To a cap
sainey. He faen produced in rapid snc-
eession an instrument fof taking sea
soundings, . hydrostatic Weighing ma
chine, and numerous ether devices, inelnd-
ing tubular steam boilers and artificial
draft by centrifugal fan. blowers. dispeas-
ing with huge emokestacks. economlxing
fuel. and showing the faliscy of the ssser-
ton that the production of steam was de-
pendent upon the amount of fire surface.
In the steamship Victory, in ISIS, he
made the first application 10 navigation of
the principle of condansing steam
and returning the water to the
boiler, and in the same year
submitted 10 the admiralty his self-aciing
gun-iock, the popularity being that by It's
means naval cannon could be automatic
ally discharged al any elevation, noswifh-
standing the rolling CT the ship. This was
offered 10 the British government, but ow-
Ing to . difficulty over the terms, Ericsson
the secret until iSs3. when the In
vention was used on the American ship
Princeton.
In Is2e be produced the celebrated steam
carriage Novelty, bailt for the purpose Of
with George Stephenson for the
historical Liverpool Manchester railway
prize. This engine was planned and CON-
pleted and placed ON the background
within seven weeks; bat, although the
Novelty. guided by Its inventor, far ex-
reeded ali other competitors In lsghtnesS,
elegance and speed, attaining the then
amazing speed of 30 miles an hour,
Rocket proved superior in
aud was awarded the prize. In
the Novelty he introduced several features,
the four most important of which are re-
lained in the locomotive OF the present
ireengine. which excited great interest In
London, and for which he efferwart re-
ceiyed. in $50. the great gold medal of the
Institute 0f New York. IN $50
be introduced the s'link motion. for re-
gersing locomotive engines, and q modifi.
cation of this device Is now in use in all
His long cherished plsa of caloric en-
yine was realized in 1873. and was hailed
with assonishment by the scientific world
Of London. Lectures were delivered on IL
BY pionysius Lardner and Michael Eara-
day, and IL was highly approved by DR..
Al drew IRE and Sir Richard Phillips A
working engine OF iye-horse power was
built, IN which he placed the "Re-
rnff hstf sfs4f
ing to the high temperature essential.
winch produced oxidation. quickly de.
stgoying the valves and other working
parts. In 1853 the caloric ship Ericsson"
200 tons, was propelled BY motor on
the same principle. A sea trial from New
York 20 Washington aud back estab-
lished great economy ia fuel. bat n q
speed To slow too compete with steam For
several years thereafter Ericsson desousd
himself 20 the Improvements of the sta
tionary calorlc engine and its application
10 light mechanical purposes, and more
than GOO of such engines have been built
up TO 1857, hundreds being employed in
New York city In pumping water In priv
ate dwellings. In IsS2 the American
academy OF arts and sciences awarded the
geld and silver Rumfogd medals to Erics-
son "for his improvements in the manage
mens Of heat, particularly shown in bis
eslogic engine OF lS5s" This Was the Sec
ond bestowal OF the premium in the
United states.
In Isas Ericsxon invented ard patented
the screw propeller, which revoiationixed
aud in 1887 built steam vessel
having twin screw propeslerx, which on
trial lowed the American packetship
Toronto AZ the rate OF dye miles an hour
on the river Thames. Sabseqae nifty the
barge. bearing the lords OF the
was towed ~ rapid rate, bat
80. via rh.~s rta
OF the new device was
futile, since they thought that as the
power must be applied AZ the stern. the
vessel would not steer. In lszs he coz
ttrucied the iron screw steamer Robert y.
stockton. which crossed the Atlantic
nsisirr canvas in ls39, and was afterward
employed as tugtoat or the river Della.
ware for quarter of century. In Is31.
urged BY Commodore Robert p. Stockton,
u 4 n, Ericsson resigned his once In
London a. experimenting engineer of the
Eastern goafIfies railway. and came 70 the
United states daring Noven Der.
in isai. under order from the United
States fayy department, be furnished de-
signs for the screw warshfp FEiaee-
ton. the frst vessel having the
prupeIling machinery eesow water
ilne. out OF the reach of
hoersIe shot. This vessel dictated the re-
Oi the navies of the world.
Besides ITS screw propeller, the Princeton
was remarkable for numerous mechanical
novelties devised By Eficsson, sucf as
direct. acting seFni-cy liHGricai steam engine
OF great TRpaefness and sinpll. lily: q
sna1ke-ssaxk. and independent
centrifugal blowers for ventilation ana for
profnoAng combustion n the boiler far-
psres ofvlsting Ghe necessity Of exposing
the chimney during battle. he slso a;ied
it with wrought iron gun carriages With
mechanism scs dispensing with hrseching.
and taking up the Fecou Of tho u Inch
wsoagnt-lrsln ggn. the first OF itz kind. sad
fsp sp that time the largest and raost p0HeT-
fHl p{eee OF urdnsstce gncngted On ship
bssa-ss: the self acting Jock before refs4red
10. and an optical instrument 20 eEahte
the commanding officer, 0y raere srspec-
ton accurately 70 ascertain the distance Of
the Object 70 be sassed at Inc Pfinceior
Ia correctly rEeArdes. as TIE pioneer OF
modern nes al construction, and also ks
the foundation Of tbs steam marine OF the
sarll Dugfag the construction OF the
P~fnretox. and before the end of i.zs.
nss raeross propeller vessels we're built aud
furnished with engines % kriessen fof
Carrying freight en ta6 rivers aud inland
waters Of the Unitea 1Aiss, ana Dis pro
pellers we're IN saceeasfai Application In
more than 20 vessels IN tats cossnfyy tsefoxc
a single ssfSxaps wss Enste % Grade hss
u.stsnI Ue 70 tass period EarBpe wzs
skrufscaI yegarsEag tss e0F1 1ereaal Tasse
az the new saefnoa of p-uprsssoa.
In 1851, IN the Unlte1 states division OF
the w.,-ld's fair, hAIa ia Loaeo2. Erkessoz
~ nghstea ssvefal 81 nss inventions. in
cIs,eing his instrsmeat for measuring DIS.
tances a sss: . hydro<s&tic gxsge for Ers6s
u1ssser rrssssse. gxazc fe,r tire saluuse Of
water passing taF0aga pspsS. tie alarm
haxouesess psFsnzeEx-s "a instrument fEss
yssaAsszrsvg Has4s hy sAe Se1oczty wlzh
xfsicf glsey gszxs ihrvlsgh tieEnifs sp<rfarss'
ard self r. tssessfF deep sea lead, szfl in
axe hy ts< Uslted States coast surveys. INT
r,vsueiuis OF uhiEh wes sstopte6 In con
ss-urrins sne sgar1sng spparAtszs tssea q
tne Cnsl.enxe~ expssssfleEs~ For rbsse pssiao
sophsf1s exaissfs kF1esson wfs aWarart
sfss- r,rix= saxSzs Of tae exnlositnn
prvvsdxss To ysss Ersrss0n e0asS 1ved -.
slssA II AZ "a - fsws in gSFAetlesi shape hen