Willgodt Theophil Odhner
| Willgodt Theophil Odhner | |
| Born | August 10, 1845 Dalby, Värmland, Sweden |
|---|---|
| Died | September 15, 1905 Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Nationality | Swede |
| Known for | Odhner Arithmometer |
Willgodt Theophil Odhner (in Cyrillic, Вильгодт Теофил Однер) was a Swedish engineer and entrepreneur, inventor of the Odhner Arithmometer, a mechanical calculator.
Odhner studied at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm from 1864 to 1867 but left before graduating. At age 23, in 1868, he moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia, even though he didn't speak any Russian. As soon as he arrived, he went to the Swedish consulate, which found him a job in a local mechanical workshop. A few months later he joined the Nobel's mechanical factory owned by a Swede named Ludvig Nobel (1831-1888), brother of Alfred Nobel of Nobel Prize fame, where he worked until 1887.
In 1871 he married Alma Skånberg the daughter of Fredrik Skånberg, a Nobel coworker. They had seven children. Unfortunatly Emilia, their second child, died at age 2 in 1877, the same year Alma, their third child was born.
According to a brochure distributed by Odhner at the Paris World exposition of 1900 "...Odhner had en 1871 an opportunity to repair a Thomas calculating machine and then became convinced that it is possible to solve the problem of mechanical calculation by a simpler and more appropriate way". It took him 19 years to perfect the design of this new machine so it could be manufactured effectively.
Odhner started his own workshop in 1887, building machines for local manufacturing businesses. One of his biggest project was the manufacturing of printing presses, he also made cigarette rolling machines and all kind of scientific instruments. In 1890 he took on an associate, Mr. Hill, to help him financially with the production of his calculator. Mr. Hill left the company around 1897, making Odhner the sole proprietor until his death in 1905.
After Odhner's death, his sons Alexander and Georg and son-in-law Karl Siewert continued the production and about 23,000 calculators were made before the factory was forced to close down in 1918.
Related
- Timeline of computing
External links
- Timo Leipälä: The life and works of W. T. Odhner, part 1.
- Timo Leipälä: The life and works of W. T. Odhner, part 2.
- Images of Odhner's arithmometers.
- Odhner Calculators - Willgodt T. Odhner - Kevin Odhner.
- ami19.org - A great site for patents and articles on 19th century mechanical calculators