Mural, A Crisis in our National History, John Ericsson Saves the Northern Fleet. Painted by Olle Hjortzberg, at American Swedish Historical Museum.
Perhaps the most famous Swede in American history, engineer John Ericsson will be forever tied to the Battle of Hampton Roads and the victory of the USS Monitor over the USS Merrimack (CSS Virginia).
John Ericsson was born July 31, 1803 in Långban, Värmland, Sweden. He had an early aptitude for mechanics and eventually moved to England where he experimented with designs for his most famous invention, the screw propeller.
When naval experts in Britain did not have faith in the propeller’s design, Ericsson took his design to the United States where the USS Princeton became the first US naval vessel driven by a screw propeller.
At the outset of the Civil War, Ericsson proposed a low-profile metal warship design to the US Navy’s Ironclad Board. Completed in February 1862, the newly commissioned USS Monitor arrived in Hampton Roads on the night of March 8. It battled the ironclad CSS Virginia the next day and held its opponent at bay. The American public subsequently hailed Ericsson and his ship as national heroes.
Following the success of the Monitor, Ericsson designed the USS Passaic. Equipped with larger guns, an upgraded pilot house, and built on a more seaworthy platform, the vessel paved the way for six sister vessels. The Passaic-class was among Ericsson’s most successful designs.
In his later years, Ericsson worked on the development of solar engines. Though these were not commercially practical, Ericsson is still heralded as an ahead-of-his-time proponent of solar power.
On March 8, 1889, John Ericsson died in his home in New York City. In August 1890, his remains were returned to Sweden in a US naval vessel for honorable burial in his homeland.
The John Ericsson Collection is on view in the John Ericsson Gallery of the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia.
Image caption: John Ericsson presents his design for the USS Monitor to the US Navy’s Ironclad Board. Mural, A Crisis in our National History, John Ericsson Saves the Northern Fleet painted by Olle Hjortzberg (1872-1959), American Swedish Historical Museum.
We welcome you to tour our museum and learn more about John Ericsson! https://www.americanswedish.org/
