Björn Kjellström, who founded the company that makes the most popular compass in the world and later introduced the sport of orienteering to North America, died Saturday in a hospital in Stockholm.
Björn Kjellström，創立了製造世界上最受歡迎指南針的公司，然後引進推行定向運動到北美洲，在星期六（1995年8月26日）去世於Stockholm（瑞典，斯德哥爾摩）的醫院。
He was 84 years old. His family said he died of complications of Parkinson’s disease.
他享年84歲。他的家人說他死於帕金森氏症的併發症。
Mr. Kjellström (pronounced SHELL-strum) was born in Sweden and became a national champion there in ski orienteering. The low-cost sport involves the use of a map and a compass to move quickly over unknown forest terrain from one control point to another. Competition is on foot in warmer weather, on skis in the winter.
Kjellström先生（發音薛爾史壯）生於瑞典，然後在那裡成為滑雪定向的全國冠軍。這項低花費的運動使用地圖和指南針，從一個控制點到另一個控制點，快速通過未知的森林。比賽者在溫暖的天氣用腳移動，冬天則滑雪。
When he began, compasses had no restraints to keep the needle from swinging. In 1932, he, his brothers Alvar and Alvid, and Gunnar Tillander invented the Silva System (Silva is the Latin word for forest). It combined a compass with a protractor built into the base.
當他開始從事這項運動時，指南針的指針沒有辦法克制晃動。1932年，他的兄弟Alvar、 Alvid和Gunnar Tillander發明了Silva系統（Silva是拉丁文，森林）。它結合了指南針和量角器在一個底板上。
Their invention made it faster and easier to use and read the compass. The protractor baseplate allowed users to take more accurate bearings from maps. The brittle magnetic needle stopped moving in the compass liquid within four seconds as opposed to up to 30 seconds in older compasses.
這個發明能夠更快更容易使用以及讀指南針。量角器底板讓使用者在地圖上更精確的測量角度。相較於敏感的磁針在填充液內只需4秒就能停止晃動，在老式指南針則多達30秒。
In 1946, Mr. Kjellström came to the United States and started the Silva Compass Company in LaPorte, Ind. In 1948, he founded Silva Ltd., in Toronto. Johnson Wax bought the American company in 1973 and the Canadian company in 1985.
於1946年，Kjellström來到了美國，於印第安納州LaPorte 開始了Silva Compass 公司。於1948年，他在Toronto創立了Silva Ltd.。Johnson Wax於1973年買下美國公司，於1985年買下加拿大公司。
A spokesman for the Johnson Worldwide Associates in Racine, Wis., said more than a half-million Silva compasses were sold in the United States annually, making it the industry leader. The compass is made in 50 models. More than 25 million have been sold, mostly to hunters, campers and the military, helped by such marketing slogans as “Read this or get lost.”
位於威士康新州Racine的Johnson Worldwide Associates發言人說，每年在美國能夠賣出超過50萬Silva指南針，讓它成為行業領導者。這些指南針生產超過50款型號。靠著行銷標語“讀它或迷路”，已經賣出超過兩千五百萬只，大部分賣給獵人、戶外活動者和軍方。
Mr. Kjellström’s 1955 book, “Be Expert With Map and Compass” (MacMillan, revised 1994), has sold more than 500,000 copies in English-language editions. It has also been published in French, Italian and Chinese.
Kjellström於1955年出版的書，”Be Expert With Map and Compass”英文版已經賣出超過50萬本，它也發行過法文、義大利文及中文版。
He was a shrewd businessman. Just after World War II, he started selling Silva compasses to Canadian stores for $3, with the stores to re-sell them for $5. When he arrived at the Eatons department store in Winnipeg, he learned the 100 compasses they bought were selling slowly, so they had put the 80 remaining compasses on sale for $2 each.
他是一位精明的商人。第二次世界大戰後，他開始賣Silva指南針3美元給加拿大人，然後在零售店賣5美元。當他到加拿大Winnipeg的Eatons百貨公司，他發現他們買的100只指南針賣得非常慢，他們只好將剩餘的80只指南針2美元特價買出。
“Without identifying myself at that stage,” he recalled, “I offered to buy their entire stock for $1.50 a compass. Then I went more or less around the corner to a couple of sporting-goods stores, not customers as yet, and sold the compasses to them for $3 net.”
“我沒有表明我的身份，”他回憶道，“我用1.5美元一個指南針買了他們所有的庫存，然後我到轉角的幾家還不是我客戶的運動用品店，賣他們一個3美元。
He introduced orienteering to the United States in 1946 and co-founded the United States Orienteering Federation in 1971. He later became the organization’s president emeritus. He helped bring the 1993 orienteering world championships to Harriman State Park near West Point, N.Y. He was vice president of the International Ski Federation from 1951 to 1979.
他於1946年推廣定向運動到美國，然後於1971年共同成立美國定向運動聯盟。稍後他成為組織的榮譽主席。他協助將1993年定向運動世界冠軍賽帶到紐約州西點附近的Harriman州立公園。他是國際滑雪聯盟的副主席，從1951到1979。
Since the 1950’s, he had lived in Pound Ridge, N.Y., where he helped develop the trail system in the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
從1950年代，他就住在紐約Pound Ridge，幫助發展Ward Pound Ridge保留區的步道系統。
He is survived by his wife, Kathi Kjellström of Pound Ridge; five children, Dr. Björn Kjellström Jr. of Trosa, Sweden; Dr. Tord Kjellström of Geneva, Laila Kjellström of Edinburgh, Rolf Kjellström of Stockholm and Carina Elgin of The Plains, Va., and eight grandchildren.
他和他的妻子Kathi Kjellström生活在Pound Ridge，五個孩子Dr. Björn Kjellström Jr. 在瑞典Trosa，Dr. Tord Kjellström在日內瓦，Laila Kjellström在蘇格蘭愛丁堡，Rolf Kjellström在斯德哥爾摩，Carina Elgin在維吉尼亞州The Plains，還有8個孫輩。
翻譯：何 燾
New York Times
By Frank Litsky
Sept. 1, 1995
文章出處：
Björn Kjellström, 84, Orienteer and Inventor of Modern Compass
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