WHO IS THAT?

Engineers often work in relative obscurity, even though their inventions may affect billions of people all over the world. Many years ago, when I was in engineering college, we used to bandy about the phrase, “Don’t be a Julius Schmidt!” It seems that Julius came up with a very popular invention, one that many people use every day, but thought it too silly to patent! While it may be unlikely today that any maker or engineer would fail to patent a unique idea, no matter how seemingly trivial, the question of whether or not posterity will recall who they are or pay them homage is another matter.

For example, the gentleman pictured above invented one of the most important devices in history, one that is transforming the world we live in today. And while a predecessor of his who worked in the field is a household name, most people are in the dark when it comes to recognizing him.

If you think you do recognize him, send me an e-mail at with your name and city state and, if you’re the first to correctly identify this individual, you’ll be recognized as an EP Wise, Infallible Zi (the surname used by kings during the Shang Dynasty), or WIZ for short, in the comments section below. In the event of a tie, the person who also correctly identifies Mr. Schmidt’s invention and who eventually did patent it will be declared the winner.