Phillip Walter Katz (November 3, 1962 – April 14, 2000) was

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Phillip Walter Katz (November 3, 1962 – April 14, 2000) was a computer programmer best known as the co-creator of the Zip file format for data compression, and the author of PKZIP, a program for creating zip files that ran under DOS.


Katz battled alcoholism for years. The earliest known arrest occurred in 1991. About a year later, Katz was again convicted of drunk driving. Between 1994 and September 1999, Katz was arrested five times for operating after suspension or revocation of his driver's license.

Before his death, Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department had several outstanding warrants against Katz, including jumping bail and the charges of operating an automobile while intoxicated and operating after revocation.

On April 14, 2000, at the age of 37, Katz was found dead in a hotel room (Skyway Motel, 8361 S 27th St) with an empty bottle of peppermint schnapps in his hand. A coroner's report stated his death was a result of acute pancreatic bleeding caused by chronic alcoholism.