Niels Christensen
| Niels Anton Christensen | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 August 1865 Denmark |
| Died | 5 October 1952 (aged 87) |
| Profession | Engineer and Inventor |
Niels Anton Christensen (16 August 1865 – 5 October 1952) was a Danish-American inventor whose principal invention was the O-ring, the ubiquitous hydraulic seal.
Niels Anton Christensen was born on a farm in Tørring-Uldum Municipality, Denmark. He showed an early aptitude for mechanics and apprenticed to a machinist in Vejle, Denmark. After completing his apprenticeship, he entered the Technical Institute of Copenhagen, now the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science. In 1891, Christensen immigrated to the United States when he was 26 years old.
Christensen became a leading draftsman at Fraser and Chalmers in Chicago, a manufacturer of machinery for industry, mining, and transportation. While working in Chicago, he witnessed an accident of a new electric railway, which resulted in two deaths and a number of injuries because the conductor was unable to stop the rail cars in time using the mechanical brake. Christensen decided to design and build a power brake. The Christensen air brake was successfully tested on Detroit's streetcar system, but a downturn of the economy prevented Christensen from manufacturing and marketing the system.
He worked briefly on electrical systems for Chicago’s Columbian Exposition and then was hired by the E. P. Allis Company of Milwaukee. While at E. P. Allis, he continued to develop his air brake for electric rail cars and streetcars. In 1896 he obtained financial backing that allowed him to make an experimental test apparatus. He also secured patents on the new valve mechanism. In early 1897, he founded Christensen Engineering Company, which initially operated in the Menomonee Valley at 718 Hanover. His operations were co-located with the Seamless Structural Company at the corner of Hanover and Burnham Streets.
In December 1906, Westinghouse sued for patent infringement. George Westinghouse, had developed an air braking system for steam locomotives and he didn’t take lightly what he considered an illegal use of his patent rights. Westinghouse Air Brake Company acquired National Electric, renamed the company the National Brake & Electric Company, which refused to pay royalties to Niels Christensen. Christensen promptly countersued, starting a 24-year legal battle that went before the US Supreme Court on three separate occasions over the rights to manufacture compressed air brake systems for streetcars.
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