Herman Fanger

Who was Herman Fanger?

Hermann Josef Fanger was a Swiss-born inventor best known for contributions to technologies ranging from the coaxial speaker to sonar. He was born in the small town of Sarnen, Switzerland to Johann Joseph Fanger and Babetta Notter. He emigrated to the United States early in adulthood. He lived in Los Gatos, California where he died in 1971.

Of Fanger's inventions, one is the coaxial speaker. He filed Patent No. 1895071 on Sep. 25, 1928, granted Jan. 24, 1933. The patent described what was later known as the coaxial speaker, incorporating a small high frequency horn with its own diaphragm set inside a large cone loudspeaker. This technology was based on the variable-area principle, which made the center cone light and stiff to accommodate high frequencies, while the outer cone was flexible and highly damped to accommodate lower frequencies.