Biographical entry Nordenfelt, Thorsten (1842 - 1920)

Born
1 January 1842
Orby, Sweden
Died
18 August 1920
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation
Industrialist and Inventor

Summary

Thorsten Nordenfelt was an inventor and industrialist.

In 1885 Nordenfelt began designing a series of steam-powered submarines after having discussions with Reverend George Garrett, inventor of the submarine Resurgam.

Nordenfelt's submarine Nordenfelt II was the first submarine to fire a torpedo while fully submerged. He sold his submarines to the Greek, Ottoman and Russian Navies.

His early company, the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company also designed a range of anti-torpedo boat guns.

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Details

Chronology

1867
Life event - Emigrated from Sweden to England, married Emma Stansfeld Grundy
1884 - 1885
Career event - Nordenfelt I built by Bolinders of Stockholm
1886 - 1887
Career event - Nordelfelt II and Nordenfelt III built on commission for the Ottoman Navy
1887
Career event - Nordelfelt IV built and bought by the Russian Navy
c. 1888
Career event - Founded the Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, London
1890
Career event - Founded Société Nordenfelt in France, designed the screw breech
1903
Life event - Retired, returned to Sweden.

Related entries

Related Inventions

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', Engineering, vol. 40, 16 October 1885, p. 371. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', Engineering, vol. 40, 2 October 1885, p. 334. Details
  • 'Nordenfelt's Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 61, 12 February 1886, p. 130. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt', The Engineer, vol. 64, 23 December 1887, p. 519. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat at Constantinople', The Engineer, vol. 63, 24 June 1887, p. 499. Details
  • 'Official Trial of the Nordenfelt Submarine Vessel', The Engineer, vol. 64, 23 December 1887, p. 511. Details
  • 'The Submarine Torpedo Boat Nordenfelt', The Engineer, vol. 63, 3 June 1887, pp. 444-445. Details
  • 'The New Submarine Boat Nordenfelt', The Engineer, vol. 63, 20 May 1887, p. 400. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Boat', The Engineer, vol. 65, 16 March 1888, pp. 212-213. Details
  • 'Nordenfelt Submarine Torpedo Boats', The Engineer, vol. 65, 24 February 1888, p. 157. Details
  • 'The Nordenfelt Submarine Torpedo Boat', The Engineer, vol. 70, 5 September 1890, p. 190. Details
  • Maber, J. M., 'Nordenfelt Submarines', Warship, vol. 32, 1984, pp. 218-225. Details

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: Maber, J. M., 'Nordenfelt Submarines', Warship, vol. 32, 1984, pp. 218-225; 'Thorsten Nordenfelt', in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorsten_Nordenfelt.

Prepared by: Rebecca Rigby