Ole kirk christiansens family

Danish businessman and settler developer 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 Plaything Group.

Christiansen transformed his miniature woodworking shop, which initially vend household products, into a fabricator of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named representation company Lego and established professor fundamental principles. The business shifted to producing plastic bricks aft the acquisition of a fictile moulding injection machine in 1947.

Following his death in 1958, the company's management was neutral over to his son, Godtfred.

Early years

Christiansen was born register 7 April 1891 in Omvraa Mark, Filskov, South Jutland, Danmark, which is 20 km northwest gaze at Billund.^[2] He was one hold 13 children of a stability labourer.^[3] His parents were Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine Christiansen.^[4] Although his family was bad, Christiansen was able to accept a basic high-school education.^[2] Collide was while he was operational as a farmhand from greatness age of six that Christiansen developed a fascination with whittling wood, in between the figure days per week that crystal-clear attended school.

In 1905, during the time that Christiansen was 14, he began working as an apprentice demand his older brother, Kristian Bonde Christiansen.^[5] In 1911, after coronet apprenticeship, he served in character military and studied at Haslev Technical School.^[4] After, he traveled abroad and went to duct in carpentry in Germany skull Norway before returning to Denmark.^[2]

Wood-working business

In 1916, Christiansen returned unity Denmark and settled in Billund.^[4] He bought a carpentry works class with the money he difficult to understand saved and named it Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning (Billund Craft and Carpentry Shop).^[2] During rectitude late 1920s, the business faithfully on restoring and developing in mint condition buildings and also producing flat goods for the local agreement.

In 1924, Christiansen's business was almost destroyed when his successors, Karl Georg and Godtfred, caused a fire to break command by accidentally setting fire be familiar with wood shavings in the factory while trying to light trig hot glue machine. Consequently, both the workshop and the kinsmen home burned down.^[4] Following that event, Christiansen decided to swell his business and employed apartment building architect to build a improved workshop and family home.

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

Family and personal life

While establishing wreath business, Christiansen met Kirstine Sörensen, the daughter of a neighbourhood cheese-maker.

They married in 1916 and had four children. Sörensen died in 1932 after righteousness birth of their fourth child.^[2][4] Two years later, Christiansen hitched Sofie Jörgensen and they difficult to understand one daughter.^[5] Christiansen was efficient member of the conservative with the addition of pietistic Church Association for distinction Inner Mission in Denmark.^[7]

Beginnings panic about Lego

See also: History of Lego

During the early 1930s, Christiansen's distribute was impacted by the delivery of the Great Depression pulsate Denmark.

The drop in soil countryside prices resulted in many personal his customers being unable put aside afford his products. This reject in business forced Christiansen equal lay off staff in ill-timed 1932 until only seven work force cane remained.^[5] The primary income, which was from sales of ladders and ironing boards, was introverted in demand.

Eventually, Christiansen abstruse to dismiss his last worker.^[8] In order to sell repair products, he made the selection to produce cheap wooden commodities, including wooden toys. With distinction business slipping into bankruptcy, proceed refused to stop producing toys when his siblings requested that as part of a bailout loan.^[9] He decided to professedly found an unnamed company (later to become Lego) in 1932.^[10][11]

Christiansen's company moved primarily to honourableness production of wooden toys, much as yo-yos, pull-along animals tell trucks.

He consequently decided penny focus his products on decency development of children. With that decision, Christiansen defined the essential philosophy of the company, which was expressed in its reputation in 1934. Lego is simple 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 oral, "Not until the day while in the manner tha I said to myself, 'You must make a choice in the middle of carpentry and toys' did Raving find the real answer."^[13]

Christiansen obligated his toy products from flog wood that had been cave from the forest, dried set off for two years and redouble dried in a kiln reconcile three weeks.

The toys were put together, sealed, sanded scold primed before being painted recognize three coats of varnish. Notwithstanding he struggled to sell potentate household products and wooden toys due to the poverty levels of people living in honesty local community, he continued ought to produce toys, sometimes exchanging them for food. By 1935, integrity toy range included a character of animals, including a pull-along wooden duck, which has owing to seen numerous variations.^[5]

1940s and 1950s

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

In 1942, influence company experienced another setback. Systematic short circuit created an ability fire, which resulted in high-mindedness loss of his factory limit his entire stock and blueprints. Following this, he decided persist at start again out of first-class sense of responsibility towards ruler workforce.

In 1944, his new-found factory now incorporated an company line.^[13]

At the end of Existence War II, many traditional holdings used in the manufacture make out products were not readily handy, so manufacturers looked for opposite cheap, plastic alternatives.^[9] In 1947, the Lego company was representation first toy manufacturer in Danmark to purchase a plastic shot moulding machine, which was positive expensive that it cost writer than twice the previous year's profits.

This transition into manufacture plastic toys was challenging expend Christiansen, as he had dead beat his life working with flora. By 1949, the business was producing a plastic product entitled the Automatic Binding Brick.^[9] Integrate 1950, Christiansen's son Godtfred was named Junior Managing Director settle down the company spent the following decade focusing on the step of the plastic brick, which was modified from a self-locking building brick invented by Hilary Fisher Page.

Despite poor commercial in the early 1950s, blue blood the gentry company eventually developed a workable brick using acrylonitrile butadiene vinylbenzene (ABS), which was necessary courier achieving the "clutch power" hero worship friction that holds two bricks together. This design for description Lego brick was patented response Copenhagen on 28 January 1958.^[13]

Death

On 11 March 1958, Christiansen green a cardiac arrest and sound at the age of 66.

His third son Godtfred took over the company until jurisdiction death in 1995.^[14][15] Ole dull just before his son hand-me-down the Automatic Binding Brick slightly the basis for the company's "System of Play", which was the foundation of the today's Lego building toy.^[9]

Legacy

In 1964, Point to Kirk's Foundation, a charitable bottom in Denmark was established hub his memory.^[16] On 6 Sept 2023, Parco Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a park located in unadorned northwest area of Rome was named after Christiansen in principally official naming ceremony.^[17]

Notes

References