Jonas Lidströmer

Jonas Lidströmer (1755–1808) was a Swedish inventor and officer in the Swedish Navy. Lidströmer was born in 1755 at Lagfors bruk, Medelpad, and died 1808 in . Colonel-mecanicus, Head of the mechanical state of the Royal Swedish-Finnish Navy, Royal Inventor and adviser to the king, Knight of the Order of Vasa and finally knighted Lidströmer (was previously called Lidström).

He was the son of inspector and co-owner of Lagfors bruk, Jonas Lidström the elder (born 1713), and began his studies at Uppsala University in spring 1771.

Jonas Lidströmer has often been called Sweden's "mechanical genius" and is often compared with Polhem, another great Swedish inventor. He collaborated with Fredrik Henrik af Chapman and came via him to Karlskrona, the main base of the Swedish navy at the time. He also collaborated with the artists Johan Tobias Sergel, Louis Jean Desprez and Ehrensvärd, and a letter corresondence with C.C. Gjörwell has been preserved. The later wellrenowned royal architect Fredrik Blom was the adept of Jonas Lidströmer.

Perhaps he is mostly famous for the Obelisk at Slottsbacken adjacent to the and the construction of Norrbro (the bridge between the Royal Palace and the Opera in Stockholm, architect for the southern part, but leader for the construction of the northern as well). Jonas Lidströmer also erected the statue of king Gustav III, with its functional postament. He has also designed, constructed and built the famous Mast Crane at the Naval harbour of Karlskrona.

Jonas Lidströmer also constructed series of harbours in Sweden and Finland, and improved the harbours of Gothenburg, Karlskrona and Helsingborg.

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