Alexandre "Sacha" Horowitz (24 March 1904 – 1982) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

-born

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and inventor. Alexandre "Sacha" Horowitz was born in 1904 in Antwerp, (Belgium) to parents of East-European Jewish heritage, and lived from 1914 in The Netherlands until his death in 1982. He has 136

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

awarded to his name over a period of 50 years covering a wide variety of products including prefab housing,

farm machinery Agricultural machinery relates to the mechanical structures and devices used in farming or other agriculture. There are many types of such equipment, from hand tools and power tools to tractors and the countless kinds of farm implements that ...

(e.g.

Vicon Kverneland Group is an international company developing, producing and distributing agricultural implements, electronic solutions and digital services to the farming community.

, see below) and oil industry equipment. His most well-known invention however is the

Philishave Philishave is the brand name for electric shavers, their spare parts and accessories manufactured by the Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care unit of Philips (in the U.S., the Norelco name is used instead). In recent years, Philips had ...

rotary

electric razor An electric shaver (also known as the dry razor, electric razor, or simply shaver) is a razor with an electrically powered rotating or oscillating blade. The electric shaver usually does not require the use of shaving cream, soap, or water. The ...

. From 1958 to 1974 he was the first

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

product design Product design as a verb is to create a new Product (business), product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is ...

and

Production engineering Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufa ...

at the

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc ...

. In 1980 Horowitz was elected Honorary Member of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

. He died in 1982 in Switzerland.

References

*Hans Schippers, ''Vader van de Philishave'', Dutch periodical ''De Ingenieur'' nr. 3–16 February 2000, p. 49

External links

Philishave collectors Club
see history
Picture of a Vicon rotary ploughHorowitz, Alexandre (Sacha) 1904 - 1982
at the Database Joods Biografisch Woordenboek {{DEFAULTSORT:Horowitz, Alexandre 1904 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Dutch inventors Dutch Jews Dutch mechanical engineers Dutch electrical engineers Delft University of Technology alumni Philips employees Eindhoven University of Technology faculty Engineers from Antwerp 20th-century Dutch engineers Belgian emigrants to the Netherlands