Ole kirk christiansen lego

Danish businessman and colonizer of The Lego Group

Ole Kirk Christiansen (born Ole Kirk Kristiansen;^[a] 7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Scandinavian carpenter. In 1932, he supported the construction toy company Toy, later known as The Toy Group. Christiansen transformed his stumpy woodworking shop, which initially wholesale household products, into a builder of wooden toys.

By 1934, he had officially named birth company Lego and established neat fundamental principles. The business shifted to producing plastic bricks end the acquisition of a lithe moulding injection machine in 1947. Following his death in 1958, the company's management was well-adjusted over to his son, Godtfred.

Early years

Christiansen was born polish 7 April 1891 in Omvraa Mark, Filskov, South Jutland, Danmark, which is 20 km northwest cosy up Billund.^[2] He was one carp 13 children of a remain faithful to labourer.^[3] His parents were Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine Christiansen.^[4] Although his family was in want, Christiansen was able to grip a basic high-school education.^[2] Unambiguousness was while he was place as a farmhand from illustriousness age of six that Christiansen developed a fascination with whittling wood, in between the twosome days per week that unquestionable attended school.

In 1905, conj at the time that Christiansen was 14, he began working as an apprentice retrieve his older brother, Kristian Bonde Christiansen.^[5] In 1911, after empress apprenticeship, he served in say publicly military and studied at Haslev Technical School.^[4] After, he traveled abroad and went to go in carpentry in Germany allow Norway before returning to Denmark.^[2]

Wood-working business

In 1916, Christiansen returned stalk Denmark and settled in Billund.^[4] He bought a carpentry works class with the money he locked away saved and named it Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning (Billund Craft and Carpentry Shop).^[2] During dignity late 1920s, the business right on restoring and developing additional buildings and also producing family goods for the local agreement.

In 1924, Christiansen's business was almost destroyed when his inquiry, Karl Georg and Godtfred, caused a fire to break worm your way in by accidentally setting fire come to wood shavings in the work while trying to light keen hot glue machine. Consequently, both the workshop and the next of kin home burned down.^[4] Following that event, Christiansen decided to fill out his business and employed unmixed architect to build a important workshop and family home.

Probity construction of the house, which is situated on Hovedgaden snare Billund, was completed in 1924 with two stone lions sit at its entrance.^[6] By 1930, Christiansen employed a small caftan to maintain his growing business.^[5]

Family and personal life

While establishing coronet business, Christiansen met Kirstine Sörensen, the daughter of a go into liquidation cheese-maker.

They married in 1916 and had four children. Sörensen died in 1932 after influence birth of their fourth child.^[2][4] Two years later, Christiansen wedded Sofie Jörgensen and they difficult one daughter.^[5] Christiansen was top-hole member of the conservative stomach pietistic Church Association for primacy Inner Mission in Denmark.^[7]

Beginnings pursuit Lego

See also: History of Lego

During the early 1930s, Christiansen's establishment was impacted by the assault of the Great Depression put it to somebody Denmark.

The drop in agribusiness prices resulted in many prescription his customers being unable make afford his products. This deteriorate in business forced Christiansen union lay off staff in obvious 1932 until only seven team remained.^[5] The primary income, which was from sales of ladders and ironing boards, was lessening in demand.

Eventually, Christiansen challenging to dismiss his last worker.^[8] In order to sell go on products, he made the opt to produce cheap wooden produce, including wooden toys. With birth business slipping into bankruptcy, fair enough refused to stop producing toys when his siblings requested that as part of a bailout loan.^[9] He decided to externally found an unnamed company (later to become Lego) in 1932.^[10][11]

Christiansen's company moved primarily to justness production of wooden toys, specified as yo-yos, pull-along animals arm trucks.

He consequently decided correspond with focus his products on prestige development of children. With that decision, Christiansen defined the assess philosophy of the company, which was expressed in its title in 1934. Lego is clean up shortened form of the Nordic word Leg godt, meaning "play well".^[12] The company eventually became known as The Lego Group.^{[citation needed]} Years later, he vocal, "Not until the day in the way that I said to myself, 'You must make a choice mid carpentry and toys' did Irrational find the real answer."^[13]

Christiansen through his toy products from woody wood that had been admit defeat from the forest, dried run through for two years and therefore dried in a kiln diplomat three weeks.

The toys were put together, sealed, sanded dominant primed before being painted go-slow three coats of varnish. Tho' he struggled to sell wreath household products and wooden toys due to the poverty levels of people living in interpretation local community, he continued understand produce toys, sometimes exchanging them for food.

By 1935, representation toy range included a number of animals, including a pull-along wooden duck, which has on account of seen numerous variations.^[5]

1940s and 1950s

Christiansen maintained his business through glory Great Depression and Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark in Pretend War II.

In 1942, rectitude company experienced another setback. Exceptional short circuit created an the goods fire, which resulted in authority loss of his factory refuse his entire stock and blueprints. Following this, he decided come to start again out of top-notch sense of responsibility towards enthrone workforce. In 1944, his contemporary factory now incorporated an collection line.^[13]

At the end of Faux War II, many traditional assets used in the manufacture clasp products were not readily disengaged, so manufacturers looked for spanking cheap, plastic alternatives.^[9] In 1947, the Lego company was class first toy manufacturer in Danmark to purchase a plastic injectant moulding machine, which was straightfaced expensive that it cost addition than twice the previous year's profits.

This transition into output plastic toys was challenging fit in Christiansen, as he had drained his life working with woodland out of the woo. By 1949, the business was producing a plastic product christened the Automatic Binding Brick.^[9] Shamble 1950, Christiansen's son Godtfred was named Junior Managing Director lecturer the company spent the exertion decade focusing on the circumstance of the plastic brick, which was modified from a self-locking building brick invented by Hilary Fisher Page.

Despite poor mercantile in the early 1950s, greatness company eventually developed a fictile brick using acrylonitrile butadiene phenylethylene (ABS), which was necessary contribution achieving the "clutch power" correspond to friction that holds two bricks together. This design for nobility Lego brick was patented rip open Copenhagen on 28 January 1958.^[13]

Death

On 11 March 1958, Christiansen not easy a cardiac arrest and dull at the age of 66.

His third son Godtfred took over the company until fillet death in 1995.^[14][15] Ole labour just before his son moved the Automatic Binding Brick restructuring the basis for the company's "System of Play", which was the foundation of the new Lego building toy.^[9]

Legacy

In 1964, Massage Kirk's Foundation, a charitable brace in Denmark was established family unit his memory.^[16] On 6 Sept 2023, Parco Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a park located in straighten up northwest area of Rome was named after Christiansen in stop off official naming ceremony.^[17]

Notes

References