- published: 24 Nov 2009
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Christopher Polhammar (18 December 1661 – 30 August 1751), better known as Christopher Polhem , which he took after his ennoblement, was a Swedish scientist, inventor and industrialist. He made significant contributions to the economic and industrial development of Sweden, particularly mining.
Polhem was born on the island of Gotland in the small village of Tingstäde, situated northeast of Visby.
Originally the Polhem family came from Austria to Pomerania, Germany, from where his father, Wolf Christoph Polhammer traded with Visby, where he would eventually settle down to become a skipper. When Polhem was 8, his father died and his mother, Christina Eriksdotter Schening from Vadstena, Östergötland remarried. As a result of conflicts with his stepfather, his private tuition was no longer paid for and Polhem was sent to live with his uncle in Stockholm. In Stockholm he attended a German school until the age of 12 when his uncle died; once again Polhem was left without the possibility of education.