Joseph Ludwig Franz Ressel (Czech: Josef Ludvík František Ressel; 29 June 1793 – 9 October 1857) was an a German Bohemian forester and inventor who designed one of the first working ship's propellers. Ressel was born in Chrudim, Bohemia (then part of Habsburg Monarchy, now the Czech republic). His father Anton Herrmann Ressel was a native German speaker, while his mother Marie Anna Konvičková was a native Czech.