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ERICSSON, John: Monument near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
John Ericsson (July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother, Nils Ericson. He was born in Sweden, moved to England in 1826 and to the U.S. in 1839. He is regarded as one of the most influential mechanical engineers ever. Ericsson designed a ship propulsion system with two screw-propellers moving in different directions (as opposed to earlier tests with this technology, which used a single screw). However, the British Admiralty disapproved of the invention, which led to the fortunate contact with the encouraging American captain Robert Stockton who had Ericsson design a propeller steamer for him and told him to bring his invention to the United States of America, as it would supposedly be more welcomed in that milieu. Ericsson moved to New York in 1839. Stockton's plan was for Ericsson to oversee the development of a new class of frigate with Stockton using his considerable political connections to grease the wheels. Finally, after the election of President Tyler, funds were allocated for a new design. Unfortunately they only received funding for a 700-ton sloop instead of a frigate. The sloop eventually became the USS Princeton, named after Stockton's hometown.Shortly after the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the Confederacy quickly began developing an ironclad based on the hull of the USS Merrimack which had been burned by Federal troops before the naval base at Norfolk had been captured by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Congress addressed this issue in August 1861 and recommend that armored ships be built for the Union Navy. Ericsson had a dislike of the U.S. Navy but he was convinced by Cornelius Scranton Bushnell to work on an ironclad for them. Ericsson presented drawings of the USS Monitor, a totally unique and novel design of armoured ship, which finished on March 6, 1862. The ship went from plans to launch in approximately 100 days, an amazing achievement. Source: Wikipedia
Granite by James Earle Fraser
Address: Independence Ave & Ohio Drive SWdirectly south of Lincoln Memorial Nearest Metro: Smithsonian (Orange - Blue)
Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog: Control number DC000120 (dcMem ID #1242)
More pictures of this attraction
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Sources & Links:
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The Names of Washington D.C. p109
ADC Greater Washington, DC Street Map Book 51
The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington D.C. K8/p400
Wikipedia article on Ericsson
Wikipedia article on the USS Monitor
NPS website on Ericsson
Spartacus website on Ericsson
