Peter Laurits Jensen (16 May 1886 – 26 October 1961) was a

Danish American Danish Americans () are Americans who have ancestral roots originated fully or partially from Denmark. There are approximately 1,300,000 Americans of Danish origin or descent. Most Danes who came to the United States after 1865 did so for e ...

engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He founded

Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", often stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics brand. It was purchased by North American Philips in 1974, which was absorbed into Dutch electronics company Philips in 1987. The predecessor to Magnavox w ...

Company and Jensen Radio Manufacturing Company.

Biography

Peter Laurits Jensen was born on May 16, 1886, near

Stubbekøbing Stubbekøbing () is a town with a population of 2,196 (1 January 2024) ...

on the island of

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. His parents were Lods Ole Jensen, a navigator, and Hansine Petersen Jensen. His education began in the village school of Moseby where he showed some promise, he later studied at the boarding school in Norre Alslev and three years later he passed the entrance exam for

Copenhagen university The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. The University of Copenhagen c ...

. He died in 1961 in

Western Springs, Illinois Western Springs is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 13,629. Named for local mineral springs on the southwest side of town, Western Springs or ...

, at the age of 75.

Career

Jensen began employment as an apprentice in the laboratory of

Valdemar Poulsen Valdemar Poulsen (23 November 1869 – 23 July 1942) was a Danish engineer who developed a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898. He also made significant contributions to early radio technology, including the first continuous w ...

, the inventor of magnetic recording and the Poulsen System of Radio in 1903. He became an assistant to Poulsen in 1905 and was sent to the United States to assist in introducing the Poulsen Radio Arc System in 1909. He was employed as engineer by the

Federal Telegraph Company The Federal Telegraph Company was a United States manufacturing and communications company that played a pivotal role in the 20th century in the development of radio communications. History The company was founded in Palo Alto, California in 1909 ...

in California, which purchased the Poulsen patent, until November 1910. In 1911, he co-founded with Edwin S. Pridham (1881–1963) the Commercial Wireless and Development Co. in

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County, California, Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California, United States. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the Bay Area, th ...

, utilizing the financial backing of Richard O'Conner and the engineering assistance of master mechanic Carl Albertus. Jensen and Pridham moved from Napa in 1916, and changed the company name in 1917 to the

Company. Jensen was employed as chief engineer until 1925. He built with Edwin S. Pridham the first moving coil loudspeaker in 1915.Kornum, Rene.
The loudspeaker is 100 years old
''

Ingeniøren ''Ingeniøren'' (full name: ''Nyhedsmagasinet Ingeniøren'', literally ''The News Magazine "The Engineer"'') is a Danish weekly newspaper specialising in engineering topics. History and profile The paper has covered science and technology issues ...

'', 4 November 2015 Called the moving coil principle, the electro-dynamic principle from which the term dynamic speaker later evolved. In 1916 he built and patented the first contained and complete electric reproducing phonograph. Made the first public address system and used on Christmas Eve in 1915 in San Francisco at a gathering where 75,000 people were present and who heard distinctly all the speeches and announcements. The public address systems under the name of

were used all over the United States. It was used by U.S. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

in 1919. World-wide there were no other companies manufacturing public address systems until 1920. He designed the Magnavox dynamic loudspeaker for reception of radio broadcasting in 1919. He also invented and patented, with Edwin S. Pridham, the first anti-noise self-neutralizing microphone in 1917 which allowed wireless communication between aircraft and the ground. This type later became known as the lip microphone, widely used in the First and Second World Wars. Jensen resigned from Magnavox in 1925, and founded the Jensen Radio Manufacturing Company in 1927. He marketed speakers under the trade name "Jensen". He remained president of firm until 1940. He was a consultant to the Radio and Radar Division of the U.S. War Production Board in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from 1942 to 1946. In 1945, he founded Jensen Industries Inc. for the manufacturing of phonograph needles—and, later in the manufacturing of the stainless steel sink.

Recognition

Jensen was made an honorary Member of the

Audio Engineering Society The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is a professional body for engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or product ...

in 1955. He was honoured by the American Institute of Radio Engineers. He was elected an Extraordinary Member of the Danish Engineering Society, and knighted by the

King of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe Is ...

in the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

References

Bibliography

*Peter Jensen, ''The Great Voice'' (written in the 1930s and published in 1975 by the Havilah Press, Texas) *Howard Fertsler, "Jensen, Peter Laurits" in Frank Hoffman, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound'', 2nd. ed. (New YorK: Routledge, 2005) Volume 1, Page 541.

External links

Oakland Wiki

Magnavox Company

Jensen Electronics

History of Jensen Loudspeakers

Audio Engineering Society

Peter L. Jensen and the Magnavox LoudspeakerIn Memoriam

Ingenioren

Mette Stougård: Denmark's Forgotten Inventor. March 23, 2001

City of Napa Department of Public Works

Historical Monument in Napa, Ca.

Jensen RV

Jensen History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Peter L. 1886 births 1961 deaths American acoustical engineers 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from lung cancer in Illinois People from Falster Danish emigrants to the United States Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century American inventors