Heinz Nixdorf
| Heinz Nixdorf | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 9, 1925 Paderborn, Westphalia, Prussia |
| Died | March 17, 1986 (aged 60) Hanover, Lower Saxony |
| Nationality | German |
| Known for | Founder of Nixdorf Computer |
Heinz Nixdorf (April 9, 1925 – March 17, 1986) was a German computing pioneer, businessman and founder of Nixdorf Computer AG.
Nixdorf was born in Paderborn.
The 27 year-old Nixdorf, at the time a physics student, founded his first computer company in 1952. As the owner he lead this company to become an international electronics concern that had an revenue of almost 4 billion D-Mark at its peak. His microcomputers were competitors to IBM mainframes. Due to his work and success Nixdorf is known as one of the founders, who today are closely linked for the German economic miracle. He also was an ambitious sportsman and is remembered for his efforts to provide good education to his employees. In 1986 he died of a heart attack in Hanover at the CeBIT
Nixdorf was born on April 25, 1925 as the oldest child of five. He went to a Catholic board school where he first showed his talent for maths and science. Due to his father's unemployment during the 1920s and '30s, his childhood was defined by poverty. Achieving good grades in school he was offered a scholarship to become a teacher. Not interested in becoming a teacher, Nixdorf wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education in Berlin. As a result he was granted permission to attend the Reismann-Gymnasium in Paderborn starting 1941. In 1942, Nixdorf was drafted by the Wehrmacht and served on the Eastern Front. He could only finish his education in 1947, receiving the Abitur.
With the aid of a scholarship Nixdorf studied physics at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität in Frankfurt am Main in 1947. In addition to his education in physics he also attended seminars in business economics. In 1951 Nixdorf started working for the development department of Remington Rand Corp.. There he gained knowledge of light calculators and met Walter Sprick, who's assistant he became. Leaving Remington to work at IBM Sprick handed some of his work and inventions over to Nixdorf. Based on those concepts, Nixdorf developed the Elektronensaldierer and the Elektronenmultiplizierer.
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