Walter Zapp
Walter Zapp | |
|---|---|
 Walter Zapp (2000) | |
| Born | 4 September [O.S. 22 August] 1905 |
| Died | 17 July 2003 (aged 97) Binningen, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Employer(s) | Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika (VEF) Minox GmbH |
| Known for | Invention of Minox subminiature camera |
Walter Zapp (Latvian: Valters Caps; 4 September [O.S. 22 August] 1905 – 17 July 2003) was a Baltic German inventor.[1] His best-known creation was the Minox subminiature camera.[2] Over the course of his life, he was granted over 60 patents.
Biography
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Zapp was born in Riga, Governorate of Livonia (now Latvia) to a Baltic German mother and a British father.[1] In 1932, while living in Estonia, he began developing the then subminiature camera by first creating wooden models, which led to the first prototype in 1936.[2] It was introduced to the market in 1938. Minox cameras were made by VEF (Valsts Elektrotehniskā Fabrika) in Latvia. VEF made 17,000 Minox cameras.
During the Spring 1941 Resettlement of Baltic Germans, Zapp moved to Germany. From 1941 to 1945, he worked on the development of electron microscopy at AEG in Berlin.
After World War II, in 1945, he founded the Minox GmbH in Wetzlar, Germany. The company still exists.
In 2001, when he went to Latvia for the last time, he said that he had gone to celebrate his 100th birthday in Latvia. He died aged 97, in Binningen near Basel, Switzerland.[1]
Patents
[edit | edit source]The innovative design and technical solutions of Zapp's camera were patented around the world. VEF received 66 patents in 18 countries for Zapp's inventions.[3] In the 1960s, Zapp was named as the inventor in several patents granted to Minox GmbH for improvements and modifications of a subminiature camera.[4] In the beginning of the 1990s, Zapp patented his last invention, the Minox T8 pocket telescope.[5]
Publications
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Awards and honors
[edit | edit source]In 2001, Walter Zapp received an honorary doctorate of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and was decorated with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana for his special services to the Republic of Estonia.[6] Eesti Post has issued a Europa postage stamp in 1994 to commemorate Walter Zapp and his patented invention (Estonian patent No. 2628), the Minox subminiature camera.[7]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ Teenetemärkide kavalerid: Walter Zapp Retrieved 24 August 2013.
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Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Morris G. Moses, John Wade. Spycamera: The Minox Story. 2nd, illustrated edition. HOVE FOTO BOOKS SATTER Incorporated, 1998. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)., Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- D. Scott Young. Minox: Marvel in Miniature. 1st Books, 2000. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- Hubert E. Heckmann. MINOX The Queen of Spy Cameras, Variations in 8x11. Wittig Books, 2012. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Minox Historical Society Archived 2023-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Obituary at the Independent
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