Carl de Laval, Swedish inventor, late 19th century.

Photograph. Carl de Laval (1845-1913) was born in Stockholm, Sweden and was educated at the Stockholm Technical Institute and the Uppsala University. In 1878 he invented a high-speed centrigugal cream separator which incorporated a turbine. De Laval did extensive research into steam turbines and the properties of steam, and included special features in his machine that changed the direction in which the steam particles moved. In 1913 De Laval invented a vacuum milking-machine.