Anton Frederik Philips (14 March 1874 – 7 October 1951) co-founded Royal

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

Electronics N.V. in 1912 with his older brother Gerard Philips in

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

, Netherlands. His father and Gerard had founded the Philips Company in 1891 as a family business. Anton Philips was CEO of the company from 1922 to 1939.

Early life and education

Born to a Dutch family, Anton was the second son to Maria Heyligers (1836 – 1921) and Benjamin Frederik David Philips (1 December 1830 – 12 June 1900). His father was active in the tobacco business and a banker at

Zaltbommel Zaltbommel (), also known, historically and colloquially, as Bommel, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. History The city of Zaltbommel The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel received ...

in the Netherlands (he was also a first cousin to

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

). Anton had an elder brother, Gerard Philips.

Career

In May 1891 the father Frederik was the financier and, with his son Gerard Philips, co-founder of the Philips Company as a family business. In 1912 Anton joined the firm, which they renamed Philips Gloeilampenfabriek N.V. (Philips Lightbulbfactory NV) During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Anton Philips managed to increase

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

by taking advantage of a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

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 programmes and facilities, such as the football department of the Philips Sports Association, which is the best known. From it the professional football department developed into the independent Philips Sport Vereniging N.V. (PSV Eindhoven). Anton Philips brought his son Frits Philips and son-in-law Frans Otten into the company in their times. Anton, Otten and other family members escaped the Netherlands just before the Nazi Occupation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They went to the United States and returned after the war. Frits Philips chose to stay and manage the company during the occupation. He was imprisoned for several months at the concentration camp of Vught after his workers went on strike, and he survived. He saved the lives of 382 Jews by claiming them as indispensable to his factory, and enabled them to evade Nazi roundups and deportation to concentration camps. He was honoured with the title

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

by the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 1996. Anton Philips died in Eindhoven in 1951. He was awarded Order of Saint Sava and other decorations. A lovely museum dedicated to his life can be found in the city of Eindhoven, located in The Netherlands. The museum meticulously recreates their initial factory and incredible journey.

Marriage and family

Philips married Anne Henriëtte Elisabeth Maria de Jongh (

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

, 30 May 1878 –

, 7 March 1970). They had the following children: * Anna Elisabeth Cornelia Philips (19 June 1899 – 4 April 1996), married in 1925 to Pieter Franciscus Sylvester Otten (1895 – 1969), and had Diek and Franz Otten (b. c. 1928 – d. 1967); Franz became a manager in his grandfather's company

. * Frederik Jacques Philips (1905–2005) * Henriëtte Anna Philips (

, 26 October 1906 – 2007), married firstly to A. Knappert (d. 1932), without issue. Married secondly to Jonkheer G. Sandberg (d. 5 September 1935), without issue. Married thirdly in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, on 29 September 1938 to ( Aerdenhout, 10 January 1911 –

, 8 November 2005). They had the following children: ** Jonkvrouw Anne Henriëtte van Riemsdijk (b. Waalre, 2 October 1939), married at Waalre on 17 February 1968 to Johannes Jasper Tuijt (b. Atjeh, Koeta Radja, 10 March 1930), son of Jacobus Tuijt and wife Hedwig Jager, without issue ** Jonkvrouw Henriëtte Adriënne Leopoldine van Riemsdijk (b. Waalre, 3 April 1946), married firstly at Calvados, Falaise, on 6 June 1974 to Martinus Jan Petrus Vermooten (

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, 16 September 1939 – Falaise, 29 August 1978), without issue. Married secondly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 12 December 1981 to Jean Yves Louis Bedos ( Calvados, Rémy, 9 January 1947 – Calvados, Lisieux, 5 October 1982), without issue. Married thirdly at

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

, Sartilly, on 21 September 1985 to Arnaud Evain (b. Ardennes, Sedan, 7 July 1952). ** Jonkvrouw Margarete Juliana Cornélie van Riemsdijk (b. Waalre, 4 September 1948), married at Waalre, 28 October 1972 to Elie Johan François van Dissel (b.

, 9 October 1948), without issue.

References

External links

Anton Philips (1874-1951)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Anton 1874 births 1951 deaths People from Zaltbommel Dutch Jews Chairmen of Philips Dutch chief executives in the manufacturing industry Dutch technology chief executives Dutch company founders Recipients of the Order of St. Sava 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 19th-century Dutch businesspeople