František Křižík

František Křižík (July 8, 1847, Plánice, Bohemia – January 22, 1941, Stádlec; Czech pronunciation: [fraɲcɪʃɛk ˈkr̝̊ɪʒiːk]) was a Czech inventor, electrical engineer, and entrepreneur. Křižík was born into a poor family in Plánice, located at the time within the Austrian Empire. In spite of this, Křižík managed in 1866 to study engineering at the Technical University of Prague ČVUT.

F. Křižík is considered the pioneer in practical electrical engineering and in electrification of Bohemia (and Austro-Hungarian empire) and at the time was often compared to Thomas Edison. In 1878 Křižík invented a remotely operated signalling device to protect against collision between trains. Křižík's cores are magnetic solenoids cores shaped so as to insure an approximately uniform pull in different positions in the solenoid.

His first experiments in Plzeň resulted in invention in 1880 of the automatic electric arc lamp, the so-called "Plzen Lamp" which was displayed at the International Exposition of Electricity in Paris in 1881. This lamp, with self-adjusting brushes, won the gold medal from among 50 similar devices. Later he successfully defended his patent against Werner Siemens claim to have created it first. His lamps were successfully used in many cities for street lighting. The restored and fully functional patented arc lamp with automated electrode adjustment can be viewed at the Museum of Pilsen.

In 1895 Křižík build one of first electromobiles in Austrian empire.

In 1884 Křižík set up his own company building city lighting, tramway lines, street cars, power stations, and various electric equipment.

A Prague subway station was named after František Křižík – Křižíkova.