Birger Ljungström (4 June 1872 – 17 November 1948) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, technical designer, industrialist, and inventor.

Biography

Birger Ljungström was born at

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla ar ...

in Stockholm, Sweden to cartographer

Jonas Patrik Ljungström Jonas Patrik Ljungström (12 March 1827 – 22 October 1898) was a Swedish cartographer, geodesist, and teacher at the Royal Institute of Technology. Biography Jonas Patrik Ljungström was born 12 March 1827 in Uddevalla as the son of jew ...

and Amalia (née Falck). His second great uncle was

Johan Börjesson Johan Börjesson (30 August 1790 – 6 May 1866) was a Swedish prelate, poet, and dramatist, associated with the Swedish phosphorist and romanticist movements. He was holder of chair 3 of the Swedish Academy. Biography Johan Börjesson was b ...

, and his third great uncle Bishop Johan Wingård. Among his siblings were Georg Ljungström, Oscar Ljungström,

Fredrik Ljungström Fredrik Ljungström (16 June 1875 – 18 February 1964) was a Swedish engineer, technical designer, and industrialist. Considered one of the foremost inventors of Sweden, Fredrik Ljungström accounted for hundreds of technical patents a ...

, among his brothers-in-law George Spaak and his nephew

Olof Ljungström Gustaf Olof "Olle" Ljungström (1918-2013) was a Swedish engineer. He was a visiting professor in aircraft design at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology in the United States. Biography Olof Ljungström was born in 1 ...

. He attended classes at

KTH Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolog ...

. Ljungström registered his first patent in 1892. He moved to England where they stayed until 1903, in order to study the field of mechanics. During the years 1906-1907, Ljungström was employed by AB Separator. Together with his brother

, he patented the Ljungström turbine around 1908. The same year, they founded the development company AB Ljungströms Ångturbin and in 1913 the separate company Svenska Turbinfabriks AB Ljungström ( STAL), which would be responsible for the production of Ljungström turbines.

Distinctions

* Honorary doctorate of the

Dresden University of Technology TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

(1928) * Gold medal of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences or ''Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademien'' (IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which prom ...

(1945) * Adelsköld medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1914) *

Honorary Fellowship Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of the

(1937) (Fellowship since 1922)

Eponyms

* Ljungström Prize of the Swedish National Mechanics' Association (1971) * Birger and Fredrik Ljungström Commemorative Medal of the

(1976) * Rotor Medal of Svenska Rotor Maskiner (1957) * Birger and Fredrik Ljungström room at the Finspång CastleBirger and Fredrik Ljungström
Finspångs Slott

References

20th-century Swedish inventors 1872 births 1948 deaths Steam turbines Swedish yacht designers Swedish industrialists 19th-century Swedish businesspeople Swedish company founders Steam turbine locomotives Swedish industrial designers Swedish mechanical engineers KTH Royal Institute of Technology alumni

Birger Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, ''bjarga'', meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of ''Birger'' would soon evolve into ''Börje'', however, the prior for ...

20th-century Swedish engineers 19th-century Swedish engineers 19th-century Swedish inventors {{engineer-stub