Christopher Polhem

Christopher Polhem, born Christopher Polhammar in 1661 on the island of Gotland, was a Swedish scientist, inventor and industrialist who made significant contributions to the economic and industrial development of Sweden, particularly its mining. In 1690 he was appointed to improve Swedish mining operations and devised a track system for lifting and transporting ore that was powered entirely by a water wheel, so that human labour was needed only for loading the containers. King Charles XI then assigned him to improve the Falun Mine in Dalarna. In 1697 he founded the laboratorium mechanicum in Stockholm, a training and testing facility for engineers from which the KTH Royal Institute of Technology descends. His Stjarnsund manufactory, built in 1699 and powered entirely by water, made knives, locks and clocks. He was ennobled in 1716, was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1739, and died in Stockholm in 1751.