View source for List of Swedish inventors

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
'''Swedish inventors''' are [[Swedish people]] who invented novel ideas, machines or tools.
In the 18th century, [[Sweden]]'s [[scientific revolution]] took off. Previously, technical progress had mainly come from professionals who had immigrated from mainland Europe. In 1739, the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] was founded, with people such as [[Carl Linnaeus]] and [[Anders Celsius]] as early members.
Sweden had a total of 49,974 patents as of 2015 according to the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]], and only ten other countries had more patents than Sweden.<ref>[http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cst_all.htm Patents By Country, State, and Year – All Patent Types (December 2015)]</ref>
The traditional engineering industry is still a major source of Swedish inventions, but pharmaceuticals, electronics and other high-tech industries are gaining ground. A large portion of the Swedish economy is to this day based on the export of technical inventions, and many large multinational corporations from Sweden have their origins in the ingenuity of Swedish inventors.<ref name="si91e">{{cite web
|url = http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/english/factsheets/SI/SI_FS91e_Swedish_inventions_and_discoveries/Swedish_inventions_and_discoveries_FS91e_Hires.pdf
|title = Swedish inventions and discoveries
|access-date = 28 October 2007
|date=January 2007
|work =  Fact Sheet FS 91 e
|publisher = Swedish Institute
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071029030823/http://www.sweden.se/upload/Sweden_se/english/factsheets/SI/SI_FS91e_Swedish_inventions_and_discoveries/Swedish_inventions_and_discoveries_FS91e_Hires.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 29 October 2007}}</ref>
== 17th century ==
* [[Christopher Polhem]] (1661–1751) was a Swedish scientist, inventor and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the economic and industrial development of Sweden, particularly mining. He reinvented the [[Cardan joint]] under the name of "Polhem knot" (Polhemknut) independently of [[Gerolamo Cardano]], an Italian mathematician who invented the knot in 1545. His greatest achievement was an automated factory powered entirely by water; automation was very unusual at the time.{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}}
* The [[Stockholms Banco]] became the first European bank to print [[banknotes]] (credit creation) from 1661 onwards, founded by [[Johan Palmstruch]]. It engaged in lending as well as commercial payments which set it aside from the earlier innovations of the Amsterdam-based ''[[Wisselbank]]''. This made Sweden one of the innovators of 17th century finance along with the [[Dutch Empire]] and the [[British Empire]] (once the [[Bank of England]] had been founded some years later in 1694).<ref name="fifty">{{harvnb|Ferguson|2012|p=50}}</ref>
== 18th century ==
* [[Anders Celsius]] (1701–44) was an [[astronomer]] and mathematician most famous for inventing the 100-point thermometer scale, widely used across the world.
* [[Sven Åderman]] is a [[Sweden|Swedish]] inventor who created a [[musket]] capable of firing more rapidly than conventional [[weapon]]ry of the late 18th century.  This new musket was first used in the wars of [[Charles XII of Sweden|King Karl XII]].  For his efforts [[Frederick I of Sweden|King Frederick I of Sweden]] bestowed upon him the [[Estate (land)|estate]] of [[Halltorps]] in the year 1723.<ref>
''Halltorps Gastgiveri Description'', Halltorps Gasgiveri, [[Borgholm]] (2004)</ref>
* [[Jonas Lidströmer]] (1755–1808), was a Swedish inventor and officer in the [[Swedish navy|Royal Swedish navy]]. He is behind a large number of mechanical devices and innovations, such as steel grinderies, ship docks, compasses etc.<ref>P.O. Nyström, Åminnelse-tal öfver Chefen för Kongl. örlogsflottans Mekaniska Stat, öfverstelöjtnanten och Riddaren av Kongl. Wasa Orden, Herr Jonas Lidströmer, Carlskrona, 1820.</ref>
* [[Johan Patrik Ljungström]] (1784–1859), [[jeweler]], inventor in [[gas lighting]], and [[underwater diving]] pioneer
* [[Per Georg Scheutz]] (1785–1873) was a 19th-century Swedish lawyer, translator, and inventor, who is best known for his pioneering work in computer technology. The best known of his inventions is the Scheutzian calculation engine, invented in 1837 and finalized in 1843.
* [[Gustaf Erik Pasch]] (1788–1862) invented the [[safety match]].
* [[Martin von Wahrendorff]] (1789–1861) was a Swedish diplomat and inventor. In 1837 Wahrendorff applied for patent on a new breech calculating, later known as the Wahrendorff breech. The first breech loaded Wahrendorff gun was manufactured at Åker in 1840.
== 19th century ==
From the 1870s, engineering [[company|companies]] were created at an unmatched rate and engineers became considered heroes of the age. Many of the companies founded by early pioneers are still internationally familiar.
* [[Jonas Offrell]] (1803–1863) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] priest who developed a [[revolver]] at the same time and independently of [[Samuel Colt]].
* [[Martin Wiberg]] (1826–1905) is known as a [[computer pioneer]] for his 1875 invention of a machine the size of a [[sewing machine]] that could print logarithmic tables. Apart from this invention, Wiberg invented numerous other devices and gadgets, among these a [[cream separator]] and a pulse [[jet engine]].
* [[Alfred Nobel]] (1833–1896) invented [[dynamite]] and instituted the Nobel Prizes.
* [[Helge Palmcrantz]] (1842–1880), Swedish inventor and industrialist. In 1873 Palmcrantz patented the multi-barrel, lever-actuated, machine gun that later would be known as the [[Nordenfelt gun|Nordenfelt machine gun]].
* [[Willgodt Theophil Odhner]] (1845–1905) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] mechanic and inventor of the Odhner [[arithmometer]], a [[mechanical calculator]].
* [[Lars Magnus Ericsson]] (1846–1926) started the company bearing his name, [[Ericsson]], still one of the largest telecom companies in the world.
* [[Jonas Wenström]] was an early pioneer in [[alternating current]] and is, along with [[Nikola Tesla]], credited as one of the inventors of the three-phase electrical system.<ref name="si91e"/>
* [[Johan Petter Johansson]] (1853–1943) built and patented the [[adjustable spanner]]/wrench in 1892.
* [[Gustaf de Laval]] (1845–1913) was a Swedish engineer and inventor who made important contributions to the design of [[steam turbine]]s and dairy machinery. The most famous invention was the milk-[[cream separator]]. In 1883 he and others founded [[AB Separator]] (later [[Alfa Laval]]). He obtained over one hundred patents in total.
* [[Carl Rickard Nyberg]] (1858–1939), inventor of the [[blowtorch]]. After [[portable stove#History|Primus]] started producing blowtorches he also decided to make [[Kerosene|paraffin oil]]/kerosene cookers. The first model, called ''Viktoria'', wasn't very successful, but the later ''Svea'' did better. Nyberg also worked on many other inventions, for instance, steam engines, aeroplanes, boat propellers and other machines. He was most famous as an aviation pioneer and he became known as "Flyg-Nyberg". From 1897, onward, outside his home in [[Lidingö]] he built and tested his [[Flugan]] (The Fly).
* [[Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist]] (1862–1931) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] inventor. He designed the first sootless [[kerosene]] [[stove]], operated by [[compressed air]].
* [[Gustaf Dalén]] (1869–1937) founded [[AGA AB|AGA]], and received the Nobel Prize for his [[sun valve]].
* [[Jonas Patrik Ljungström]] (1827–1898), cartographer, and geodesist
* The latter's sons [[Fredrik Ljungström]] (1875–1964) and [[Birger Ljungström]] (1872–1948) accounted for hundreds of patents each. They first invented and designed the Svea bicycle with [[freewheel]] and a rear-wheel brake (1892), still the most common type in [[Sweden]]. Subsequent to contributing to [[milking machine]]s, they invented high-pressure [[steam boiler]]s and a new type of [[steam turbine]], the [[Ljungström turbine]] (patented in 1894), turbine-powered [[Ljungström locomotive]]s, the [[air preheater]], as well as inventions for [[Ljungström sailing boat|sailing boats]], such as the [[Ljungström rig]].
* [[Sven Gustaf Wingqvist]] (1876–1953) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] engineer, inventor and industrialist, and one of the founders of [[SKF|Svenska Kullagerfabriken]] (S.K.F.), one of the world's leading ball- and roller bearing makers. Sven Wingqvist invented the multi-row self-aligning [[wikt:radial|radial]] [[ball bearing]] in 1907.
* [[Hans von Kantzow]] (1887–1979) is known to have invented the steel alloy [[Kanthal (alloy)|Kanthal]]. In 1931 [[AB Kanthal]] was founded for the exploitation of the invention.
* One of [[John Ericsson]]'s (1803–89) most important inventions was [[ship propeller]]s. Ericsson became widely famous when he built the ''[[USS Monitor]]'', an armoured [[battleship]] that in 1862 triumphed over the [[Confederate States]]' ''[[USS Merrimack (1855)|Merrimack]]'' in an [[American Civil War]] [[sea battle]].
* [[Theodor Svedberg]] (1884–1971) invented the [[ultracentrifuge|ultracentrifugation]] method for determination of molecular weights in 1924.
* [[Anders Knutsson Ångström]] (1888–1981) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[physicist]] and [[meteorologist]] who was known primarily for his contributions to the field of atmospheric radiation. He is credited with the invention of the [[pyranometer]], the first device to accurately measure direct and indirect solar radiation.<ref>
{{cite news
|url=http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2004/09/22/keen-dimming/
|title=Dim Sun Global dimming? Global warming? What's with the globe, anyway?
|date=22 September 2004
|author=Kip Keen
|work=[[Grist Magazine]]
}}</ref>
* [[Boris Hagelin]] (1892–1983) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] businessman and inventor of [[encryption]] machines.
* [[Carl Munters]] (1897–1989), Swedish inventor, best known for inventing the [[gas absorption refrigerator]]. After inventing the foam plastic he started his own company and developed, among other things, new insulation materials, air conditioners, and dehumidification devices. At his death, Munters had over a thousand patents.
* [[Carl Edvard Johansson]] (1864-1943) invented [[gauge blocks]] in 1896 which are the main means of industrial length standardization.
== 20th century ==
* [[Laila Ohlgren]] (1937–2014), inventor of mobile phone call-button dialling based on phone storage of the number to be dialled
* [[Arne Asplund]] (1903–1993) was inventor of the [[Defibrator]] pulping refiner and the defibrator-method (also called Asplund-method) for pulping wooden chips.
* [[Oscar Kjellberg]] was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] inventor and industrialist. Founder of [[ESAB]], in 1904, and [[Kjellberg Finsterwalde]], in 1922. He invented the coated electrode used in [[manual metal arc welding]] (Swedish Patent: 27152, 29 June 1907), by dipping a bare iron wire in a thick mixture of carbonates and silicates. His pioneering of [[covered electrode]] development paved the road during the next twenty years in the research of reliable flux coated electrodes.
* [[Nils Alwall]] (1904–1986), a [[Sweden|Swedish]] professor was a pioneer in [[hemodialysis]] and the inventor of one of the first practical [[Kidney dialysis machines|dialysis machines]]. Alwall pioneered the technique of [[ultrafiltration]] and introduced the principle of [[hemofiltration]].<ref name="nnd">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hdcn.com/symplund.htm|title= Nordiska Njurdagar (Nordic Nephrology Days) |access-date=3 October 2007|publisher=Hypertension, Dialysis, and Clinical Nephrology|year=1997|author1=Hypertension, Dialysis |author2=Clinical Nephrology |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref name="hdcn3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hdcn.com/symp/lund/dauglund.htm|title=Nils Alwall Lecture|access-date=3 October 2007|publisher=Hypertension, Dialysis, and Clinical Nephrology|year=1997|author=Nils Alwall}}</ref><ref name="nobel">{{Cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2000/carlsson-autobio.html|title=Arvid Carlsson, The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2000|access-date=3 October 2007|publisher=Nobel Foundation|year=2000|author=Arvid Carlsson}}</ref> Alwall is referred to as the "father of extracorporeal blood treatment."<ref name="prize">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bio-pro.de/en/region/rhein/meldungen/02899/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110718202632/http://www.bio-pro.de/en/region/rhein/meldungen/02899/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2011|title= Nils Alwall Prize 2006 awarded to scientist at the Medical Hospital in Heidelberg|access-date=3 October 2007|publisher=The Biotech/Life Sciences Portal|year=2006|author=BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg}}</ref>
* [[Austria]]'s [[Carl Hellmuth Hertz]] (1915–80) began research on ultrasound in [[medical examinations]] in the early 1950, thereby becoming known throughout the world. A Swedish physician, [[Inge Edler]] (b. 1911-2001) told Hertz that he wanted to devise a non-invasive method for examining the [[heart]]. Echocardiography has revolutionized cardiovascular diagnostics. In 1977 Hertz and Edler received the American equivalent of the Nobel Prize in medicine, the Lasker Prize. The use of ultrasound in medical diagnostics is increasing sharply in a number of different fields.
* [[Harry Roberts (inventor)|Harry Roberts]] is the co-inventor of [[julmust]] and founder of [[Roberts (syrup company)|Roberts]] in [[Örebro]], Sweden. After studying [[chemistry]] in Germany during the late 19th century he invented the soft drink together with his father [[Robert Roberts (soft drink maker)|Robert Roberts]].
* [[Johan Richter (inventor)|Johan Richter]] (1901–1997) invented during the 1930s the continuous bleaching process for paper. Then during the WW2 he took on the more challenging continuous cooking process for pulp. Virtually all paper in the world is today produced with processes developed by Richter. He holds more than 750 patents.
* [[Nils Bohlin]] (1920–2002) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] inventor who invented the three-point [[Seat belt|safety belt]] while working at [[Volvo]].
* [[Arvid Gerhard Damm]] (died 1927) was a [[Sweden|Swedish]] engineer and inventor. He designed a number of [[cipher]] machines, and was one of the early inventors of the [[rotor machine|wired rotor]] principle for machine encipherment. His company, AB Cryptograph, was a predecessor of [[Crypto AG]].
* [[René Malaise]] (1892–1978) was a Swedish [[entomologist]], explorer and art collector who is mostly known for his invention of the [[Malaise trap]] and his systematic collection of thousands of insects.
* Although not initially invented by a Swede the design of the [[zipper]] was improved upon and patented by two [[Swedish-Americans]], [[Peter Aronsson]] and [[Gideon Sundbäck]].
* [[Baltzar von Platen (inventor)|Baltzar von Platen]] and [[Carl Munters]] in 1922, invented the [[Refrigerator|absorption Refrigerator]] while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. It became a worldwide success and was commercialized by [[Electrolux]].
* [[Sven Wingquist]] (1876–1953) invented the [[Self-aligning ball bearing#Self-aligning|self-aligning ball bearing]] in 1907. He founded a global company, [[SKF]] (AB Svenska Kullagerfabriken), still the world's leading producer of industrial bearings.
* Arvid Palmgren (1890–1971) invented the [[spherical roller bearing]] in 1919 when working for [[SKF]]. This bearing could take considerably heavier loads than the self-aligning ball bearings, and was quickly adopted by heavy industries.
* [[Tetra Pak]] (1951) is an invention for storing, packaging and distributing liquid foodstuffs, for example, milk and juice. [[Erik Wallenberg]] (1915–99) was the main inventor, while businessman [[Ruben Rausing]] (1895–1983) developed and produced it. (See box). Several new package types have been added. The most ubiquitous is the Tetra Brik (1969).
* In the late 1950s, the first working Bottle Return Machine (or [[Reverse vending machine]]) was invented and manufactured by "Wicanders" from Sweden.<ref name="ReverseVending_About">{{cite web |url=http://www.reversevending.co.uk/About_Reverse_Vending.html |title=About Reverse Vending Machines |publisher=Reverse Vending |access-date=19 October 2014 |quote=The First working Bottle Return Machine was invented and manufactured by "Wicanders" from Sweden used in the late 1950s. }}</ref>
* [[Håkan Lans]] (born 1947) is recognised as one of Sweden's most outstanding inventors. Among his inventions is the [[digitizer]], the predecessor of the [[computer mouse]]. He is also credited with the further development of the satellite-guided [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS) into the [[Automatic Identification System]] (AIS). Lans's system has become world standard for shipping and civil aviation. He is also famous for a patent regarding computer graphics.
* Magnus Kellström (1941–) is an engineer graduated from [[Chalmers University of Technology]] that invented the toroidal roller bearing (also known as [[SKF]] CARB bearing). The bearing was introduced in 1995,<ref>{{cite web|title=Hedersdoktor|url=http://www.chalmers.se/sv/om-chalmers/akademiska-hogtider/promotion/hedersdoktorer/Sidor/magnus-kellstrom.aspx|publisher=Chalmers University of Technology|access-date=7 December 2013}}</ref> and forms together with a [[spherical roller bearing]] a "self-aligning system".
* The energy saving light bulb was invented by a consortium at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm in 1973.
* In the 1990s, an [[ABB Group|ABB]] team under [[Mats Leijon]] developed a new generator, the [[Power Former]], producing high-tension current directly to the network without [[transformer links]].
* [[Arne Tiselius]] (1902–71) used electrophoresis in the 1940s to analyse various proteins. Tiselius's work has been followed by other similar methods. All are important for medical and biological research. Tiselius received the Nobel Prize for [[chemistry]] in 1948.
* In 1958, [[Rune Elmqvist]] developed a small battery-powered [[pacemaker]] that can be inserted under the skin of a heart patient.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} It produces electrical impulses that help the heart muscle work normally. In the same year, [[Åke Senning]] at the [[Karolinska Hospital]] in Stockholm carried out the world's first pacemaker operation.
* [[Peter Nordin]] (1965–2020) was a Swedish computer scientist who has contributed to artificial intelligence, automatically generated computer programming, machine learning, and evolutionary robotics.
* In 1968, [[Lars Leksell]] (1907–86) invented the [[gamma knife]] for [[brain surgery]]. The 'knife' uses concentrated gamma radiation on the [[tumour]] or malformation. The method is bloodless and patients can often leave hospital on the day of the operation.
* The transmission of high voltage direct current, HVDC, is a method developed at [[ASEA]] (now ABB) under Uno Lamm (1904–89). ABB remains one of the leading makers of [[HVDC]] technology, now also used for terrain cable.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080417041935/http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/FactSheet____15878.aspx]
* [[Losec]], an ulcer medicine, was the world's best-selling drug in the 1990s and was developed by [[Ivan Östholm]] and [[Sven Erik Sjöstrand]] of [[AstraZeneca|Astra]].
* In 1973, Bengt Ilon invented the [[Mecanum wheel]], a wheel which is capable of moving in any direction.
* In 1993, Dr. Vladimir Ronin invents the process to produce [[Energetically Modified Cement ("EMC Cement")|Energetically Modified Cement]] ("EMC Cement"), whilst at [[Luleå University of Technology]].
== 21st century ==
* [[Adam Dunkels]] was recognized by American MIT's [[Technology Review]] as one of the top 35 young inventors in the world, notably for [[uIP (micro IP)|Micro IP]] which allows tiny gadgets such as car keys and credit cards to communicate using [[Internet protocols]].<ref name="sweden.se">{{cite web|url=http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Education/Research/Facts/Innovation/|title=Innovation: Inventing tomorrow's world}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
===Bibliography===
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*{{cite book |title=[[The Ascent of Money]]|last=Ferguson|first=Niall|year=2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780718194000}}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/mirror2/SI/security/inventio.html Swedish inventions and discoveries]
{{Inventions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swedish Inventions}}
[[Category:Swedish inventors| ]]
[[Category:Sweden history-related lists|Inventions and discoveries]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Sweden]]
[[Category:Lists of inventors|Swedish]]
[[Category:Lists of Swedish people by occupation|Inventors]]