Tuomas Vohlonen was a famous Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 inventor. A surveyor by trade, his patents cover a wide area of devices and activities including compasses, skis, surveying, engines and farming. His most important heritage is the company Suunto

Suunto

Suunto Oy, based in Finland, is a company that produces and markets sports precision instruments for Diving, Training and Outdoor sports. Headquartered in Vantaa, Suunto employs more than 500 people worldwide, and its products are sold in over 100 countries...

 Oy which is still active producing compasses according to his patented method as well as dive computers, outdoor wristtop computers, and heartrate watches.

In April 1933, after experimentation with various designs, Vohlonen applied for a patent from the Finnish National Board of Patents and Registration for a compact liquid-filled field compass

Compass

A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...

, in which the magnetic needle and damping fluid were completely sealed into a unitary fused celluloid

Celluloid

Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is...

 capsule. Volhonen was granted a patent on January 25th, 1935. Together with his wife Elli and nephew Kauko he founded Suunto Oy in 1936. Vohlonen incorporated his new liquid-filled capsule into a lightweight wrist-mounted design, the M-311, suitable for use by soldiers, surveyors, hikers, and others navigating while afoot.

Here is a quote from a text by Kastehelmi Nikkanen in the Innogallery exhibition about Tuomas Vohlonen and Suunto at the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland

‘There is a saying that an inventor must be discontented, or he will never come up with any inventions. Tuomas Vohlonen was discontented. Wherever he moved, worked or came across new things, his first thought was “Is this good enough, could it be improved?” He was tireless as an inventor.’

These are words by Sulo Veikko Siitonen (S.V.S) in his article Tuomas Vohlonen – famous Finnish inventor genius in the newspaper Etelä-Saimaa in spring 1969, marking the fact that 30 years had passed from Tuomas (Tommo) Vohlonen’s death.

In summer 1939, Tuomas Vohlonen, inventor and surveyor, was 61 years old. He had been granted 39 Finnish patents and his most important inventions had been patented abroad, too. He was the managing director of an emerging company established three years earlier, but ‘just as he was about to see his efforts bear fruit, the thread of life was suddenly cut for him.’(S.V.S.).

Mrs Elli Vohlonen, his wife and business partner, took on the business after the sudden death of her husband. She was the managing director until 1952 and fought several times in court, defending patent rights that had been transferred to her after Tuomas Vohlonen's death. She prevailed, the products of the company gained reputation as good and reliable merchandise, and the name of the company became well known.

The most groundbreaking of Tuomas Vohlonen’s inventions was the method for manufacturing a liquid-damped march compass, and the company, which he founded in 1936 together with his wife Elli and his nephew Kauko, Suunto

Suunto

Suunto Oy, based in Finland, is a company that produces and markets sports precision instruments for Diving, Training and Outdoor sports. Headquartered in Vantaa, Suunto employs more than 500 people worldwide, and its products are sold in over 100 countries...

Oy.