Origins & Early Life

Frederik Jacques "Frits" Philips (16 April 1905 – 5 December 2005) was a Dutch centenarian who was the fourth chairman of the board of directors of the Dutch electronics company Philips, which his uncle and father founded. For his actions in saving 382 Jews during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, he was recognised in 1996 by Yad Vashem as a Righteous Among the Nations. Frits Philips was born in the city of Eindhoven in the south of the Netherlands. The second child, he was the only son of Anton Philips and his wife Anne Henriëtte Elisabeth Maria de Jongh.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His father was of Dutch Jewish origin, as well as the co-founder when in 1912 they incorporated the family business. Frits had an older sister named Annetje and a younger sister named Jettie. Their grandfather Frederik Philips was a first cousin of Karl Marx. In 1923, Philips started his studies at the Delft University of Technology; he received an engineer's degree in mechanical engineering in 1929. He was introduced to the Oxford Group in 1934, the Christian movement that was the forerunner of Moral Re-Armament (MRA) and Initiatives of Change (IofC).

Enduring Legacy & Impact

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