Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt

Johann Heinrich Ehrhardt, also spelled Erhardt (29 April 1805 – 29 April 1883), was a German locomotive manufacturer and inventor.

Ehrhardt was born on 29 April 1805 in Zella St. Blasius, Germany. He was the son of a poor gunsmith who worked in Jäger'schen wire drawing plants. When a master gunsmith visited Ehrhardt's parents, he saw Ehrhardt's technical skills and allowed him to become an apprentice gunsmith. Ehrhardt's first job as a journeyman was at the mint in Gotha.

Ehrhardt moved to Belgium in 1831. He worked for an optician in Brussels for half a year before moving with the John Cockerill company to Seraing, where he worked in steam engineering. While working with dewatering machines, he invented a rear cargo compartment.

To acquire theoretical knowledge for future work, Ehrhardt went to the Polytechnic Institute in Düsseldorf for three months, starting in November 1833. That same year, preparations began for the construction of Le Belge, the first steam locomotive manufactured in Belgium. The locomotive was completed in 1835 by Robert Stephenson and Company, for use on a planned railway from Brussels to Mechelen.

In 1836, Ehrhardt attended the Arts and Crafts School in Düsseldorf for further theoretical studies and to improve his skills in technical drawing. Afterward, he returned to his home in Zella-Mehlis.

While at a trade fair in Leipzig in October 1838, Ehrhardt met one of the directors of the Saxon engineering company in Chemnitz, who hired him to build steam engines and locomotives.

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