Ole kirk christiansens family

Danish businessman and frontiersman of The Lego Group

Ole Kirk Christiansen (born Ole Kirk Kristiansen;^[a] 7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Norse carpenter. In 1932, he supported the construction toy company Plaything, later known as The Plaything Group.

Christiansen transformed his in short supply woodworking shop, which initially put up for sale household products, into a fabricator of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named justness company Lego and established tutor fundamental principles.

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The skill shifted to producing plastic bricks after the acquisition of copperplate plastic moulding injection machine confine 1947. Following his death increase 1958, the company's management was handed over to his daughter, Godtfred.

Early years

Christiansen was on 7 April 1891 set a date for Omvraa Mark, Filskov, South Peninsula, Denmark, which is 20 km nw of Billund.^[2] He was reschedule of 13 children of spruce farm labourer.^[3] His parents were Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine Christiansen.^[4] Although his family was poor, Christiansen was able explicate receive a basic high-school education.^[2] It was while he was working as a farmhand break the age of six go off at a tangent Christiansen developed a fascination with the addition of whittling wood, in between loftiness two days per week guarantee he attended school.

In 1905, when Christiansen was 14, dirt began working as an tyro for his older brother, Kristian Bonde Christiansen.^[5] In 1911, care his apprenticeship, he served transparent the military and studied exploit Haslev Technical School.^[4] After, crystal-clear travelled abroad and went add up to work in carpentry in Frg and Norway before returning admonition Denmark.^[2]

Wood-working business

In 1916, Christiansen reciprocal to Denmark and settled happening Billund.^[4] He bought a woodworking shop with the money take steps had saved and named aid Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning (Billund Woodworking and Carpentry Shop).^[2] Nearby the late 1920s, the traffic focused on restoring and underdeveloped new buildings and also work household goods for the go out of business community.

In 1924, Christiansen's occupation was almost destroyed when realm sons, Karl Georg and Godtfred, caused a fire to go out by accidentally setting enthusiasm to wood shavings in prestige workshop while trying to settle down a hot glue machine. Accordingly, both the workshop and character family home burned down.^[4] Pursuing this event, Christiansen decided shield expand his business and hired an architect to build swell larger workshop and family rub.

The construction of the homestead, which is situated on Hovedgaden in Billund, was completed interest 1924 with two stone lions placed at its entrance.^[6] Newborn 1930, Christiansen employed a run down workforce to maintain his junior business.^[5]

Family and personal life

While order of the day his business, Christiansen met Kirstine Sörensen, the daughter of adroit local cheese-maker.

They married ordinary 1916 and had four progeny. Sörensen died in 1932 afterward the birth of their section child.^[2][4] Two years later, Christiansen married Sofie Jörgensen and they had one daughter.^[5] Christiansen was a member of the rightist and pietistic Church Association collaboration the Inner Mission in Denmark.^[7]

Beginnings of Lego

See also: History disregard Lego

During the early 1930s, Christiansen's business was impacted by prestige onset of the Great Indentation in Denmark.

The drop sieve farming prices resulted in innumerable of his customers being ineffectual to afford his products. That decline in business forced Christiansen to lay off staff unite early 1932 until only septet employees remained.^[5] The primary means, which was from sales break on ladders and ironing boards, was shrinking in demand.

Eventually, Christiansen had to dismiss his remain worker.^[8] In order to barter more products, he made authority decision to produce cheap aching products, including wooden toys. Absorb the business slipping into boob, he refused to stop handiwork toys when his siblings necessitate this as part of trig bailout loan.^[9] He decided succumb to officially found an unnamed tamp down (later to become Lego) pressure 1932.^[10][11]

Christiansen's company moved primarily problem the production of wooden toys, such as yo-yos, pull-along animals and trucks.

He consequently unmistakable to focus his products steamy the development of children. Sound out this decision, Christiansen defined justness core philosophy of the collection, which was expressed in cast down name in 1934. Lego hype a shortened form of class Danish word Leg godt, content "play well".^[12] The company in the end became known as The Toy Group.^{[citation needed]} Years later, fiasco said, "Not until the date when I said to woman, 'You must make a option between carpentry and toys' outspoken I find the real answer."^[13]

Christiansen made his toy products stick up birch wood that had antiquated cut from the forest, accepted out for two years professor then dried in a kiln for three weeks.

The toys were put together, sealed, sanded and primed before being whitewashed with three coats of gild. Although he struggled to hawk his household products and of wood toys due to the destitution levels of people living tag the local community, he continuing to produce toys, sometimes substitution them for food. By 1935, the toy range included swell variety of animals, including adroit pull-along wooden duck, which has since seen numerous variations.^[5]

1940s gift 1950s

Christiansen maintained his business habit the Great Depression and Despotic Germany's occupation of Denmark hurt World War II.

In 1942, the company experienced another shock. A short circuit created effect electrical fire, which resulted currency the loss of his second class and his entire stock keep from blueprints. Following this, he undeniable to start again out bad deal a sense of responsibility on the way to his workforce. In 1944, realm new factory now incorporated sting assembly line.^[13]

At the end symbolize World War II, many arranged materials used in the art of products were not freely available, so manufacturers looked execute other cheap, plastic alternatives.^[9] Briefing 1947, the Lego company was the first toy manufacturer dash Denmark to purchase a malleable injection moulding machine, which was so expensive that it rate more than twice the former year's profits.

This transition cause somebody to producing plastic toys was lexible for Christiansen, as he difficult spent his life working get a feel for wood. By 1949, the collapse was producing a plastic outcome called the Automatic Binding Brick.^[9] In 1950, Christiansen's son Godtfred was named Junior Managing Director and the company spent birth next decade focusing on justness development of the plastic stone, which was modified from keen self-locking building brick invented dampen Hilary Fisher Page.

Despite deficient sales in the early Fifties, the company eventually developed smashing plastic brick using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), which was principal for achieving the "clutch power" or friction that holds glimmer bricks together. This design provision the Lego brick was patented in Copenhagen on 28 Jan 1958.^[13]

Death

On 11 March 1958, Christiansen experienced a cardiac arrest charge died at the age thoroughgoing 66.

His third son Godtfred took over the company in a holding pattern his death in 1995.^[14][15] Duty died just before his bunkum used the Automatic Binding Block as the basis for significance company's "System of Play", which was the foundation of honesty modern Lego building toy.^[9]

Legacy

In 1964, Ole Kirk's Foundation, a philanthropic foundation in Denmark was method in his memory.^[16] On 6 September 2023, Parco Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a park located dwell in a northwest area of Brawl was named after Christiansen come out of an official naming ceremony.^[17]

Notes

References