James Bullough Lansing

James Bullough Lansing (born James Martini, January 2, 1902 – September 29, 1949) was a pioneering American audio engineer and loudspeaker designer who was most notable for establishing two audio companies that bear his name, Altec Lansing and JBL (the latter taken from his initials).

Early life James Martini was born on January 2, 1902, in Greenridge, a coal mining town in Nilwood Township, Illinois, to parents Henry Martini of St. Louis, Missouri and Grace Erbs Martini of Central City, Illinois. His father was a coal mining engineer which meant the family moved around considerably in James' early years. He was the ninth of fourteen children. He lived for a short time with the Bullough family in Litchfield, Illinois, and later took their name. He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. At the Audio Engineering Society's 1958 convention, Lansing was posthumously awarded a Citation "for contributions to loudspeaker design."