John Ericsson Memorial - Washington, DC
Posted by: DougK
N 38° 53.202 W 077° 03.011
18S E 322180 N 4306201
John Ericsson was the builder of the Monitor, a Civil War ship that met with the Merrimac in a epic battle of iron-clad ships.
Waymark Code: WMBFBK
Location: District of Columbia, United States
Date Posted: 05/14/2011
Views: 17
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer who became best known as the builder of the Monitor, a Civil War ship that met with the Merrimac in a epic battle of iron-clad ships. Ericsson is credited with the two-screw propeller design with each moving in opposite directions. Erisccon also invented an engine driven by hot air instead of steam, eliminating the need for a water boiler.
The memorial has a large square with Ericsson seated on one side of the base. A message is inscribed around the four sides of the base, reading from the front:
John Ericsson AD1803-AD1889
Inventor an Builder of the Monitor
He Revolutionized Navigation By
His Invention of the Screw Propeller
On top of the base, three nude figures are grouped around a massive gnarled tree. The three figure represent Ericsson's strengths and are labeled Vision, Adventure and Labor.
The John Ericsson Monument in Washington, DC, is located on a small traffic rotary on Ohio Drive SW, not far from the Lincoln Memorial.