Monument Monday – To the Inventor of the Screw Propeller

Washington, DC has it’s share of monuments.  Some to the nation’s Founding Fathers, other memorials and statues to less famous and even more obscure people.

A monument just a short walk from the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall is just one of those.  It memorializes the contributions of Swedish inventor and mechanical engineer John Ericsson (1803-1889).

Among his 588 patents, Ericsson is considered one of the several men that simultaneously and separately invented the screw propeller for marine propulsion.  The invention changed naval and commerce shipping as ships no longer had to rely on wind and sail to power their ships.

Ericsson initially designed a propulsion system for the British Navy with two screw-propellers moving in different directions.  The British Admiralty disapproved of the design and Ericsson found interest for his design in the United States.

Besides the screw propeller, Ericsson designed the 172 ft. (52m) USS Monitor, the first armored Ironclad ship in the Union Navy to serve during the American Civil War.  He also worked with steam locomotives, compressed air as a power source for  ships, steam boilers, steam-powered fire-engines, and more.

Even the Wright Brothers used Ericsson’s screw propeller to help formulate their airplane propeller design. 

One hundred and ten years after the Monitor sank while being towed in high seas in 1862, the wreck of the ship was discovered about 16 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Subsequently, several major artifacts, including the ships propeller, gun turret and a cannon, anchor, and engine along with some personal effects of the ship’s crew have been recovered. they are on display at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.

The Ericsson memorial is just a short walk from the Lincoln Memorial and was dedicated in May of 1926, before a crowd of 5,000, that included President Calvin Coolidge.

Ericsson Memorial
Ohio Drive, SW south of Independence Ave., SW.
Washington, DC

Dates & Times – Daily – accessible 24-hours

Admission – Free

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Foggy Bottom – Orange and Blue lines, or Arlington Cemetery – Blue line, then a ¾-mile walk, or use the DC Circulator bus.

Parking – Limited metered street parking is available.

Images – From personal collection  ©2009, Jon Rochetti, Titanic screws – public domain.
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