Axel Welin
Swedish inventor and industrialist (1862–1951)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernst Martin Axel Welin (10 November 1862 – 27 July 1951), was a Swedish inventor and industrialist. He was married to Agnes Welin from 1889.
Ernst Martin Axel Welin | |
|---|---|
Ernst Axel Welin | |
| Born | 10 November 1862 |
| Died | 27 July 1951 (aged 88) |
| Known for | Welin breech block |
| Spouse | |
Axel Welin studied at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm from 1879 to 1884. Between 1886 and 1888, Welin worked as a weapons designer for Thorsten Nordenfelt in London. In 1889 he started his own engineering firm, the Welin Davit & Engineering Company Ltd. He soon designed the famed Welin breech block[1] for large artillery.
However, his main interest was davits. He invented a new and improved davit for lowering boats on board ship, a quadrant davit for double-banked boats which simply became known as the Welin davit. The RMS Titanic was equipped with Welin davits,[2] and after the disaster the demand for his product skyrocketed. He was awarded the John Scott Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1911. He retired a wealthy man in 1932 and returned to Sweden.
The Welin Davit Company continues today as Welin Lambie, based at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands, UK.