John Ericsson
Biography from A
History of American Manufactures... (1866)
Born: 31 July 1803
Died: 8 Mar 1889
John Ericsson of New York, whose name,
during the late Rebellion, became a household word with the American
people, by his valuable contributions of engineering skill, was born in
the Province of Wermeland, Sweden, in 1803. The son of a mining
proprietor, his earliest impressions of machinery were derived from the
engines and apparatus for working mines. While yet a mere boy of
eleven, he attracted the attention of the celebrated Count Platen, and
was appointed a cadet in the Swedish Engineer Corps. In 1820, he
entered the army as an ensign, and was soon promoted to a lieutenantcy.
In 1826, be obtained leave of absence for a visit to England, with a
view of introducing his invention of a flame engine, which be had
exhibited in a machine of about ten horse-power. This engine did not
realize his expectations, and involved expenditures which induced him
to resign his commission in the army and devote himself to mechanics.
Numerous inventions followed, among
which may be mentioned the steam boiler on the principle of artificial
draft, (or the introduction or which he joined the established
mechanical house of John Braithwaite. After having been applied to
numerous boilers for manufacturing purposes, in London, with success,
effecting a great saving of fuel, and dispensing with the huge
smoke-stacks, this invention was applied to railway locomotion on the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway, in the fall of 1829. The principle of
artificial draft which characterized this engine is yet retained in all
locomotives; but a different mode of producing it was soon after
accidentally discovered, and the original inventor derived no benefit
from it.
In 1883, be reduced to practice his
long-cherished project of a Caloric Engine, and submitted the result to
the scientific world in London. The invention excited very general
interest, and lectures were delivered in explanation of it by eminent
scientific men in England; but the high temperature so affected its
working parts, that the machine, as at first constructed, was not
available for practical purposes. More recently, he has succeeded in
improving upon the original idea, and has produced engines with
cylinders varying from six to thirty six inches in diameter, that are
now applied successfully in pumping, printing, turning light machinery
of various kinds, and working telegraphic instruments and sewing
machines. Several hundred of these are now in practical operation, but
the extent of power attainable by this process has not, we believe,
even yet been fully ascertained.
In 1839, Mr. Ericsson came to the
United States, and was employed under the direction of the Navy
Department in the construction of the United State ship-of-war,
"Princeton," which was the first steamship ever built with the
propelling machinery under the water-line and out of the reach of shot.
This vessel was distinguished for numerous mechanical novelties besides
the propeller, among which were a direct acting engine of great
simplicity, the sliding telescope chimney, and gun carriages with
machinery for checking the recoil of the gun.
Mr. Ericsson's list of inventions are
so numerous that if set forth in detail they would of themselves fill
up a volume. At the great World's Fair in London, in 1851, he exhibited
an instrument for measuring distances at sea; a hydrostatic gauge for
measuring the volume of fluids under pressure; a reciprocating fluid
metre for measuring the quantity of water which passes through pipes
during definite periods; an alarm barometer; a pyrometer, intended as a
standard measure of temperature, from the freezing point of water up
to the melting point or iron; a rotary fluid meter, the principle of
which is the measurement of fluids by the velocity with which they pass
through apertures of definite dimensions; and a sea lead, contrived
for taking soundings at sea without rounding the vessel to the wind,
and independently of the length of the lead line. His recent
inventions, especially the new form of iron-clad war vessels, known as
the Monitors, are so familiar to intelligent readers that they need
not any other elucidation than is given them elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Ericsson is now a resident of New
York, and a most indefatigable worker. It is no uncommon circumstance
for him to pass sixteen hours a day at his table in the execution of
detailed mechanical drawings, which he throws off with remarkable
facility.
Text from: Cyclopaedia
of American Literature:
Embracing Personal and Critical Notices of Authors, and and selections
from their writings. From the earliest period to the present day; with
portraits, autographs, and other illustrations,
by Evert
A(ugustus) Duyckinck, published by C. Scribner (1866)
