KŘIŽÍK, František

K. was born in a poor family of a shoemaker and attended secondary modern school first in Klatovy and later, from 1866 on, in Prague. Due to the poor financial situation of his family he could not complete his studies at the Technical University, so he was trained in the Kaufamann company in Prague, which manufactured telegraphs and measuring devices. In the field of railway construction K. specialized in telegraph equipment and safety technology. After he was engaged in a number of companies that dealt with railways, he worked on the Plzeň – Březno line from 1873 on. In 1878 he was granted a patent for blocking device to prevent train collisions, which was originally used on Emperor Ferdinand railway and later on many other lines in Austria-Hungary.
At the 1878 Paris Universal Exhibition he was inspired by electric lighting so he started to improve the so-called Yablochkov candle and developed a new electromagnetic regulator for it. As a result of cooperation with the entrepreneur Piette, who allowed K. to perform experiments in his paper factory, he invented a differential arc lamp called the System Piette-K., patented in 1880. A year later it was displayed at the International Exposition of Electricity in Paris and won the gold medal. It was also patented in England, France, the USA, Germany and several other countries. The same year K. founded a company in Plzeň. Unlike his later competitor Emil →Kolben, K. promoted direct current system all his life.
At the beginning of 1880s, especifically in 1883, K. presented his arc lamp at the International Electrotechnical Exhibition in Vienna. After he experienced success, he moved his company to Prague-Karlin. Among the large orders of the time were installation of lighting and other electric devices in the representative house on the Žofin island in Prague, as well as installation of electric lighting in cities of Písek, Jindřichův Hradec, Žižkov and Karlín.
As a successful entrepreneur he was also one of the organizers of the Regional Jubilee Exhibition in 1891 in Prague, at the time the most important exhibition of achievements in trade and industry. His enterprise installed electric lighting, designed illuminated fountains and helped to build the first electric railroad. The latter was built from the place where the exhibition took place and all the way to the Letna quarter in Prague. K. was also involved in building the electric tram in Prague, Plzeň, as well as in Bosnia and Croatia.
In 1903 the first electric railway line Tabor- Bechyně started operating in the Czech Republic. K. supplied the motor rail car and built the power plant in the city of Tabor. After 1900 he also built three automobiles with an electric engine, but they are considered less successful experiments in this field.
After his company was transformed into a limited company, K. in 1917 withdrew from society.