Anton Philips
Encyclopedia
Anton Frederik Philips (March 14, 1874, Zaltbommel
Zaltbommel
Zaltbommel is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel first received city status in 1231, which status was renewed in 1316....
, Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
– October 7, 1951, Eindhoven) co-founded Royal Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
Electronics N.V. in 1912 with his older brother Gerard Philips
Gerard Philips
Gerard Leonard Frederik Philips was a Dutch industrialist, co-founder of the Philips Company as a family business in 1891. Gerard and his younger brother Anton Philips changed the business to a corporation by founding in 1912 the NV Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken...
in Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. He served as CEO of the company from 1922 to 1939.
Early life and education
Anton was born to Maria Heyligers (1836 – 1921) and Benjamin Frederik David Philips (December 1, 1830 – June 12, 1900). His father was active in the tobacco business and a banker at ZaltbommelZaltbommel
Zaltbommel is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel first received city status in 1231, which status was renewed in 1316....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. (He was a first cousin to Karl Marx.) Anton's brother Gerard was 16 years older.
Career
In May 1891 the father Frederik was the financier and, with his son Gerard PhilipsGerard Philips
Gerard Leonard Frederik Philips was a Dutch industrialist, co-founder of the Philips Company as a family business in 1891. Gerard and his younger brother Anton Philips changed the business to a corporation by founding in 1912 the NV Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken...
, co-founder of the Philips Company as a family business. In 1912 Anton joined the firm, which they named Royal Philips Electronics N.V.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Anton Philips managed to increase sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
by taking advantage of a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of German goods in several countries. He provided the markets with alternative products.
Anton (and his brother Gerard) are remembered as being civic-minded. In Eindhoven they supported education and social programs and facilities, such as the soccer department of the Philips Sports Association as the best-known example.
Anton Philips brought his son Frits Philips
Frits Philips
Frederik Jacques "Frits" Philips was the fourth chairman of the board of directors of the Dutch electronics company Philips, which his uncle and father founded...
and grandson Franz Otten into the company in their times. Anton took the young Franz Otten with him and other family members to escape the Netherlands just before the Nazi Occupation during World War II; they went to the United States. They returned after the war.
His son Frits Philips chose to stay and manage the company during the occupation; he survived several months at the concentration camp of Vught
Vught
Vught is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands. It is a town where lots of commuters live and has recently been named "Best place to live" by the Dutch magazine Elsevier.-Politics:...
after his workers went on strike. He saved the lives of 382 Jews by claiming them as indispensable to his factory, and thus helped them evade Nazi roundups and deportation to concentration camps.
Philips died in Eindhoven in 1951.
Marriage and family
Philips married Anne Henriëtte Elisabeth Maria de Jongh (AmersfoortAmersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
, May 30, 1878 – Eindhoven, March 7, 1970). They had the following children:
- Anna Elisabeth Cornelia Philips (June 19, 1899 – ?), married in 1925 to Pieter Franciscus Sylvester Otten (1895 – 1969), and had:
- Diek Otten
- Franz Otten (b. c. 1928 - d. 1967), manager in the Dutch electronics company PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
- Frederik Jacques PhilipsFrits PhilipsFrederik Jacques "Frits" Philips was the fourth chairman of the board of directors of the Dutch electronics company Philips, which his uncle and father founded...
(1905-2005) - Henriëtte Anna Philips (Eindhoven, October 26, 1906 – ?), married firstly to A. Knappert (d. 1932), without issue; married secondly to G. Jonkheer Sandberg (d. September 5, 1935), without issue; and married thirdly in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on September 29, 1938 to Jonkheer Gerrit van Riemsdijk (AerdenhoutAerdenhoutAerdenhout is a small town in the municipality of Bloemendaal, the Netherlands. Located in the dunes between Haarlem and the Netherlands's popular beach town Zandvoort, it ranks as the wealthiest town in the Netherlands...
, January 10, 1911 – Eindhoven, November 8, 2005). They had the following children:- ..., Jonkheerin Gerrit van Riemsdijk (b. WaalreWaalreWaalre is an affluent municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.- Population centres :Aalst, Achtereind, De Heuvel, Heikant, Loon, Timmereind and Waalre....
, October 2, 1939), married at WaalreWaalreWaalre is an affluent municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.- Population centres :Aalst, Achtereind, De Heuvel, Heikant, Loon, Timmereind and Waalre....
on February 17, 1968 to Johannes Jasper Tuijt (b. Atjeh, Koeta Radja, March 10, 1930), son of Jacobus Tuijt and wife Hedwig Jager, without issue - ..., Jonkheerin Gerrit van Riemsdijk (b. WaalreWaalreWaalre is an affluent municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.- Population centres :Aalst, Achtereind, De Heuvel, Heikant, Loon, Timmereind and Waalre....
, April 3, 1946), married firstly at CalvadosCalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, FalaiseFalaise, CalvadosFalaise is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:The town was the birthplace of William I the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. The Château de Falaise , which overlooks the town from a high crag, was formerly the seat of...
, on June 6, 1974 to Martinus Jan Petrus Vermooten (UtrechtUtrecht (city)Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
, September 16, 1939 – FalaiseFalaise, CalvadosFalaise is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-History:The town was the birthplace of William I the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. The Château de Falaise , which overlooks the town from a high crag, was formerly the seat of...
, August 29, 1978), son of Martinus Vermooten and wife Anna Pieternella Hendrika Kwantes, without issue; married secondly in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on December 12, 1981 to Jean Yves Louis Bedos (CalvadosCalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, RémyRémyRémy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Rémy lies in the valley of the Sensee river, some southeast of Arras, on the D9 road.-Population:-Places of interest:...
, January 9, 1947 – CalvadosCalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, LisieuxLisieuxLisieux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Lisieux is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland...
, October 5, 1982), son of Georges Charles Bedos and wife Henriette Louise Piel, without issue; and married thirdly at MancheMancheManche is a French department in Normandy named after La Manche , which is the French name for the English Channel.- History :Manche is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, SartillySartillySartilly is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France....
, on September 21, 1985 to Arnaud Evain (b. ArdennesArdennesThe Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
, SedanSedan, FranceSedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
, July 7, 1952), son of Jean Claude Evain and wife Flore Halleux, without issue - ..., Jonkheerin Gerrit van Riemsdijk (b. WaalreWaalreWaalre is an affluent municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.- Population centres :Aalst, Achtereind, De Heuvel, Heikant, Loon, Timmereind and Waalre....
, September 4, 1948), married at WaalreWaalreWaalre is an affluent municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, immediately south of the city of Eindhoven.- Population centres :Aalst, Achtereind, De Heuvel, Heikant, Loon, Timmereind and Waalre....
, October 28, 1972 to Elie Johan François van Dissel (b. Eindhoven, October 9, 1948), son of Willem Pieter Jacob van Dissel and wife Francisca Frederike Marie Wirtz, without issue
- ..., Jonkheerin Gerrit van Riemsdijk (b. Waalre