Svend Foyn

From Freepedia

Svend Foyn (1809 - 1894), Norwegian from Tønsberg. Foyn organised his first whaling expedition in 1847 to Northern Norway. In 1863 he constructed a whaling harpoon cannon with an explosive tip and in 1864 it was mounted on the world's first steam driven whale hunting vessel, Spes & Fides, built at Nylands Verksted in Christiania. The vessel was 94 feet (29 m) long, with a 20 horsepower (15 kW) engine; it could reach a speed of 7 knots (13 km/h).

Svend Foyn revolutionized whale hunting, for good and bad. When he died he left a fortune of NOK 4 million, and an industry that would nearly annihilate these large animals.