Lou Ottens
Lou Ottens (born June 21, 1926 in Bellingwolde ) is a Dutch engineer and inventor . At the Dutch company Philips, he played a key role in the development of the compact cassette , which was introduced in 1963 and was one of the most important sound carriers worldwide until the 1990s . In the late 1970s, he played a key role in the development of the compact disc (CD), which came onto the market in 1982. To this day, the CD is still the most important commercial sound carrier for music.
Life
As a teenager during the Second World War, Ottens built a radio for himself so that he could secretly listen to the Allies' radio. After the war he worked for three years in a factory for X-ray technology in order to earn something for the parents' family. Ottens studied at the Technical University (TU) in Delft . From 1960 he worked in the product development department in the new Philips plant in Hasselt , Belgium , where Dutch and Belgian-Flemish developers worked closely together. In the further course of his career Ottens worked at Philips in Eindhoven as head of the audio-video department and as director (1970s).
The compact cassette was developed by Lou Ottens and his development team in Hasselt, including in particular the developer of the housing, Johannes JM Schoenmakers , between 1960 and 1963 and introduced by the Dutch company Philips at the end of August 1963. Not least because of the great success of this new sound carrier , Philips managed to break the 5000 employees mark by 1970. Around 20 years later, in 1981 and 1982, Ottens was involved in the development of the compact disc at Philips , which was introduced in 1982.
Lou Ottens now lives in Knegsel near Eindhoven.
Web links
- zeit.de: Band salad that changed the world
- Fifty years of tape
- SWR article on the history of the audio cassette
literature
- Hoe Lou Ottens de wereld veranderde , in: BN / DeStem, 24 August 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ A Great Invention 100 Years On. Sony, archived from the original on April 13, 2010 ; accessed on April 15, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ottens, Lou |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch engineer and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 21, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bellingwolde |