| František Křižík | |
|---|---|
František Křižík (most likely in 1902) |
|
| Born | July 8, 1847 Plánice |
| Died | January 22, 1941 Stádlec |
| Resting place | Vyšehrad cemetery |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Occupation | Engineer, entrepreneur |
| Known for | arc lamp |
František Křižík (July 8, 1847, Plánice, Bohemia – January 22, 1941, Stádlec; Czech pronunciation: [fraɲcɪʃɛk ˈkr̝̊ɪʒiːk]) was a Czech inventor, electrical engineer and entrepreneur. The main belt asteroid 5719 Křižík was named in his honor.[1]
Křižík was born in a poor family. In spite of this he managed (in 1866) to study engineering. In 1878 he invented a device to protect against collision between trains. His first experiments in Plzeň resulted in the invention of the electric arc lamp, the so-called Plzen Lamp (1881), for which he successfully defended his patent against Werner Siemens. In 1884 Křižík set up his own company building tramway lines, power stations and electric equipment.