View source for Biography:John W. Nystrom

[[Image:Nystrom Calculator.png|thumb|right|256px|Nystrom's Calculator]]

'''John Williams Nystrom''' ({{lang-sv|Johan Vilhelm Nyström}}) (1825–1885) was a  Swedish born, American  [[Engineering:Civil engineer|civil engineer]], [[Social:Inventor|inventor]], and author.  He served as an assistant Secretary and Chief Engineer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War.<ref name="hist"/>

==Background==
He was born Johan Vilhelm Nyström in Småland province, Sweden. He received his engineering degree from the Royal Institute of Technology  (''Kungliga Tekniska högskolan'') in Stockholm, Sweden. He emigrated to the United States in the 1840s, and became an American citizen in 1854. He maintained residence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he died on May 11, 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kth.se/en/om/fakta/more-than-175-years-of-excellence-1.7594
|title=More than 175 years of excellence|publisher=KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm|accessdate=March 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name="hist">[http://history-computer.com/CalculatingTools/Gadgets/Nystrom.html "History of Computers and Computing, Calculating tools, Gadgets, Nystrom"]</ref>

==Inventions and patents==
Nystrom received many patents for inventions such as a [[Engineering:Marine steam engine|marine steam engine]], a [[Physics:Refrigerator|refrigerator]], and calculating machines. His slide ruler invention (U. S. patent #7961) was filed with the United States Patent Office on 4 March 1851.<ref>[http://www.oughtred.org/patents.shtml ''American Slide Rule Patents'' (The Oughtred Society)]</ref>

Nystrom is most notable for his proposal to switch from [[Decimal|decimal]] to [[Hexadecimal|hexadecimal]] as defined in his 1862 publication titled ''Project of a New System of Arithmetic, Weight, Measure and Coins, Proposed to be Called the Tonal System, with Sixteen to the Base''.<ref name="Ton">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_aNYGAAAAYAAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_aNYGAAAAYAAJ/page/n113 105]|title=Project of a New System of Arithmetic, Weight, Measure and Coins: Proposed to be Called the Tonal System, with Sixteen to the Base|last=Nystrom|first=John William|date=1862|publisher=Lippincott|language=en}}</ref>

==Numeral systems==

===Tonal system (hexadecimal)===
{{Main|Tonal system}}
In 1859, Nystrom proposed a [[Hexadecimal|hexadecimal]] (base 16) system of notation, [[Arithmetic|arithmetic]], and [[Metrology|metrology]] called the '''Tonal system'''. In addition to new weights and measures, his proposal included a new [[Physics:Calendar|calendar]] with sixteen months, a new system of [[Finance:Currency|coinage]], and a [[Hexadecimal time|hexadecimal clock]] with sixteen hours in a day.<ref name="Ton"/>

{{quote|I am not afraid, or do not hesitate, to advocate a binary system of arithmetic and metrology. I know I have nature on my side; if I do not succeed to impress upon you its utility and great importance to mankind, it will reflect that much less credit upon our generation, upon scientific men and philosophers. |author=John W. Nystrom, ca. 1863<ref>''The Art of Computer Programming'' section 4.1, Donald Knuth.</ref>}}

===Duodenal system (duodecimal)===
In 1875, Nystrom proposed a new [[Duodecimal|duodecimal]] (base 12) system of notation, [[Arithmetic|arithmetic]], and [[Metrology|metrology]] called the '''Duodenal system''' as an appendix in his book ''A New Treatise on Elements of Mechanics Establishing Strict Precision in the Meaning of Dynamical Terms''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/anewtreatiseone00nystgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/anewtreatiseone00nystgoog/page/n313 307]|title=A New Treatise on Elements of Mechanics Establishing Strict Precision in the Meaning of Dynamical Terms Accompanied with an Appendix on Duodenal Arithmetic and Metrology|date=1875|publisher=Porter & Coates|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Nystrom|first1=John W.|last2=Goodman|first2=Donald P.|url=http://www.dozenal.org/drupal/sites_bck/default/files/DSA_nystrom_duodenal_arith_0.pdf|title=Duodenal System of Arithmetic, Measures, Weights and Coins|publisher=Dozenal Society of America|orig-year=1875|date=August 2013}}</ref>

==Selected works==

*''A treatise on screw propellers and their steam-engines, with practical rules and examples how to calculate and construct the same ... accompanied with A treatise on bodies in motion in fluid ... also, a full description of a calculating machine'' (Philadelphia: H. C. Baird. 1852)
*''Project of a new system of arithmetic, weight, measure and coins, proposed to be called the tonal system, with sixteen to the base'' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co.; London: Trubner & Co. 1862)
*''On technological education and the construction of ships and screw propellers, for naval and marine engineers'' (Philadelphia: H.C. Baird. 1866)
*''Informe al supremo gobierno del Perú, sobre una espedición al interior de la república'' (Lima:  E. Prugue. 1868) '''Spanish'''
*''Pocket-book of mechanics and engineering'' (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & co.; London: Trübner & Co. 1869)
*''Principles of dynamics'' (Philadelphia: J. P. Murphy, printer. 1874)
*''A new treatise on elements of mechanics establishing strict precision in the meaning of dynamical terms accompanied with an appendix on duodenal arithmetic and metrology'' (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates. 1875)
*''A new treatise on steam engineering, physical properties of permanent gases, and of different kinds of vapor'' (Philadelphia: London: J.B. Lippincott & Co. 1876)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_aNYGAAAAYAAJ|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_aNYGAAAAYAAJ/page/n113 105]|title=Project of a New System of Arithmetic, Weight, Measure and Coins: Proposed to be Called the Tonal System, with Sixteen to the Base|last=Nystrom|first=John William|date=1862|publisher=Lippincott|language=en}}
* Nystrom, John W. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-0032(63)90258-8 ''On a new system of arithmetic and metrology, called the tonal system'' Part 1],[https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-0032(63)90301-6 Part 2],[https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-0032(63)90604-5 Part 3]
* {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/anewtreatiseone00nystgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/anewtreatiseone00nystgoog/page/n313 307]|title=A New Treatise on Elements of Mechanics Establishing Strict Precision in the Meaning of Dynamical Terms Accompanied with an Appendix on Duodenal Arithmetic and Metrology|date=1875|publisher=Porter & Coates|language=en}}


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[[Category:American engineers]]

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