Today in Wheeling History: January 29--While working as an engineer at Wheeling Mold & Foundry Company, Swedish immigrant John A. Hellstrom, who called Wheeling home for many years, received a U.S. patent for his invention that helped factory workers change machine speeds more safely (1924).
John Adrian Hellstrom (1868-1927) was a Swedish-born engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to industrial manufacturing in Wheeling, West Virginia. Born on March 4, 1868, in Stockholm County (Stockholms län), Sweden, he immigrated to the United States and initially settled in Pennsylvania, where he married Amelia A. Zimmerman on October 16, 1890, in Cambria. Hellstrom's engineering expertise led him to Wheeling, where he worked as an engineer at the Wheeling Mould and Foundry Company. While working in Wheeling, he created an innovative mechanical system called a "Change-Speed Transmission for Lathe Faceplates" that helped factory workers change the speed of their metal-working machines more easily. He received US Patent 1,482,010 for this invention in 1924. His device made factory work faster and safer because workers could change speeds without having to use special motors or stop their machines completely. Hellstrom died on December 16, 1927, at age 59 in Wheeling. He was interred in the West Virginia American Mausoleum #2, Crypt 225, at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling. He and his wife Amelia had at least one child, Herbert Ericson Hellstrom (1894-1954).
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/3jrztrbj); Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/55wx597p), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3zcpx4kf)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave
John Adrian Hellstrom (1868-1927) was a Swedish-born engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to industrial manufacturing in Wheeling, West Virginia. Born on March 4, 1868, in Stockholm County (Stockholms län), Sweden, he immigrated to the United States and initially settled in Pennsylvania, where he married Amelia A. Zimmerman on October 16, 1890, in Cambria. Hellstrom's engineering expertise led him to Wheeling, where he worked as an engineer at the Wheeling Mould and Foundry Company. While working in Wheeling, he created an innovative mechanical system called a "Change-Speed Transmission for Lathe Faceplates" that helped factory workers change the speed of their metal-working machines more easily. He received US Patent 1,482,010 for this invention in 1924. His device made factory work faster and safer because workers could change speeds without having to use special motors or stop their machines completely. Hellstrom died on December 16, 1927, at age 59 in Wheeling. He was interred in the West Virginia American Mausoleum #2, Crypt 225, at Greenwood Cemetery in Wheeling. He and his wife Amelia had at least one child, Herbert Ericson Hellstrom (1894-1954).
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/3jrztrbj); Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/55wx597p), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3zcpx4kf)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave
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