John Ericsson National Memorial, located near the National Mall

National Mall

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...

 at Ohio Drive

Ohio Drive (Washington, D.C.)

Ohio Drive is a street in Southwest Washington, DC, located in East and West Potomac Parks, straddling along the Tidal Basin, Washington Channel, and the Potomac River. Unlike most roads named after states in Washington, Ohio Drive is not an avenue, nor it is heavily used like Wisconsin or Rhode...

 and Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. (southwest)

Southwest is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city. Southwest is small enough that it is frequently referred to as a neighborhood in and of...

,
in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, is dedicated to the man who revolutionized naval history with his invention of the screw propeller. The Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 engineer John Ericsson

John Ericsson

John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor and mechanical engineer, as was his brother Nils Ericson. He was born at Långbanshyttan in Värmland, Sweden, but primarily came to be active in England and the United States...

 was also the designer of the USS Monitor

USS Monitor

USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...

, the ship that ensured Union naval supremacy during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

The national memorial

National Memorial

National Memorial is a designation in the United States for a protected area that memorializes a historic person or event. National memorials are authorized by the United States Congress...

 was authorized by Congress on August 31, 1916, and dedicated on May 29, 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

 and Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden

Gustaf VI Adolf - Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf - was King of Sweden from October 29, 1950 until his death. His official title was King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends. He was the eldest son of King Gustaf V and his wife Victoria of Baden...

. Congress appropriated $35,000 for the creation of the memorial, and Americans chiefly of Scandinavian descent raised an additional $25,000. Constructed on a site near the Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...

 between September 1926 and April 1927, the pink Milford granite

Milford granite (Massachusetts)

Milford granite is a Proterozoic igneous rock located in and around the town of Milford, Massachusetts, covering an area of approximately 100 sq km, as mapped by the USGS. It is described as a light-gray to pale orange-pink biotite granite. The biotite is typically in clots or short streaks...

 memorial is 20 feet (6.1 m) high with a 150 feet (45.7 m) diameter base.

Sculpted by James Earle Fraser, it features a seated figure of Ericsson 6 in 5 in (1.96 m) high, and three standing figures representing adventure, labor, and vision. The national memorial is managed by National Mall and Memorial Parks

National Mall and Memorial Parks

National Mall and Memorial Parks is an administrative unit of the National Park Service encompassing many national memorials and other areas in Washington, D.C...

.

External links

• John Ericsson National Memorial official NPS website
• http://www.americanheritage.com/content/john-ericsson-national-memorial
• http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/john-ericsson-national-memorial/
• http://www.ohranger.com/john-ericsson
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/3045284048/