Carl Edvard Johansson

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CE Johansson on receiving an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota, United States in 1932
Carl Edvard, his wife Margareta and their four children, from left; Elsa, Signe, Edvard and Gertrud. Photo around 1930

Carl Edvard Johansson (* 1864 ; † 1943 ) was a Swedish mechanical engineer and inventor , entrepreneur . Johansson is considered to be the inventor of the gauge block .

Life

In 1888 Johansson was working as a weapons inspector at the State Arsenal and was interested in the tools used in the measurement of weapons. He came to believe that a well-designed series of blocks could be made for general use. In 1901 Johansson was granted his first Swedish patent for "Gauge Block Sets for Precision Measurements".

In 1906 his measuring devices had an accuracy of 1/1000 mm and in 1908 they reached 1/10000 mm.

On March 16, 1917, Johansson founded his company CE Johansson AB (CEJ AB) in Eskilstuna . He sold the first set of his measuring blocks to Henry Martyn Leland of the Cadillac Automobile Company around 1908 .

In America, the first factory for its measuring instruments was established in Poughkeepsie , NY, in 1919 . In 1923 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Johansson contacted Henry Ford , who offered him his new engineering laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan, to work. Ford Motor Company sold a large number of "yo-blocks" over the years, peaking during World War II.

Johannson stayed in America for 12 years until 1936 before moving back to Sweden, where he died in Eskilstuna in 1943.

Johansson had been married to Margareta Andersson since 1896 and had four children.

Prizes and awards (selection)

  • Gold Medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering

With his invention, Johannson made it possible for companies all over the world to produce according to uniform dimensions.

Literature (selection)

  • Torsten Karl Vilhelm Althin: CE Johansson, 1864-1943: The Master of Measurement . Nordisk Rotogravyr, 1948

Sources with web links

personal data
SURNAME Johansson, Carl Edvard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish inventor and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 1864
DATE OF DEATH 1943