Otto Schmitt
| Otto Schmitt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 April 1913 St. Louis, Missouri, USA |
| Died | 6 January 1998 (aged 84) Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA |
| Citizenship | United States (1913–1998) |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields |
Biophysics Bioengineering Electrical engineering |
| Institutions |
Washington University University of Minnesota University College, London |
| Notable awards | John Price Wetherill Medal (1972) |
| Spouse | Viola Schmitt |
Otto Herbert Schmitt (April 6, 1913 – January 6, 1998) was an American inventor, engineer, and biophysicist known for his scientific contributions to biophysics and for establishing the field of biomedical engineering. Schmitt also coined the term biomimetics and invented the Schmitt trigger, the cathode follower, the differential amplifier, and the chopper-stabilized amplifier.
He was awarded the John Price Wetherill Medal in 1972.
Otto Herbert Schmitt was born on April 6, 1913 in St. Louis, Missouri, making him the third child of Otto Franz Johannes Schmitt and Clara Senninger Schmitt. At the time of Otto Jr.’s birth, Otto Sr. and Clara had an eleven-year-old daughter and a ten-year-old boy, Viola and Francis. The family lived in a large two story building that served as both a residence and as a business. Otto Sr. and Clara had formed Senninger & Schmitt Wallpaper & Painting Company with Clara’s father. After his death, they continued on with the business. Their business lives permeated their personal lives. In his memoirs, Otto’s older brother Francis recalls how, “Operating hours for the first-floor decorating business ran from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.” [Schmitt] According to Harkness, “The Schmitt building…was full of energy and hard work during Otto’s youth.” [Harkness]
Otto Schmitt began his educational journey in the fall of 1918 when he started kindergarten at Garfield Elementary School located only five blocks from his family’s house. Being quite a gifted child, he was able to complete elementary school a full semester ahead of schedule. This allowed him to begin attending Roosevelt High School in January 1927. It was during these high school years that Schmitt truly began to exhibit an extraordinary talent for invention, particularly with regards to novel circuitry. This was possible due to the position of his older brother Francis Otto Schmitt, who was a newly appointed assistant professor of zoology at the nearby Washington University. Recent construction at the university meant that Francis would have plenty of room for his laboratory work, but he was “almost completely without laboratory equipment.” In order to fill this void, Francis sought out the help of his younger brother Otto who was “nothing short of a prodigy with electrical instruments.” [Harkness] According to Francis, Otto was able to build “highly original and very effective instrumentation.” [Schmitt] This is a testament to amazing talent possessed by Otto Schmitt, even during his formative years.
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