Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891

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Biography

Ole Kirk Christiansen was a Danish carpenter. In 1932, he founded the construction toy company Lego, later known as the Lego Group. Christiansen transformed his small woodworking shop, which initially sold household products, into a manufacturer of wooden toys. By 1934, he had officially named the company Lego and established its fundamental principles. The business shifted to producing plastic bricks after the acquisition of a plastic moulding injection machine in 1947. Following his death in 1958, the company's management was handed over to his son, Godtfred.

Timeline

The story of Ole Kirk Christiansen, told in moments.

1924 Life

His workshop burns down when his two youngest sons accidentally set fire to wood shavings. He rebuilds. Then the Great Depression hits Denmark. Nobody's buying furniture. He starts making wooden toys instead. Ironing boards, yo-yos, pull-along ducks.

How did you rebuild after your sons accidentally burned down your workshop? Was switching from furniture to toys desperation or inspiration? Which toy came first -- the ironing boards or the yo-yos?

1934 Event

Names his company LEGO, from the Danish 'leg godt,' meaning 'play well.' He later discovers it also means 'I put together' in Latin. He makes this up, probably. His motto for employees: 'Only the best is good enough.'

Did you really discover the Latin meaning of LEGO by accident? What does 'only the best is good enough' mean when you're making yo-yos? Was naming the company the easy part?

1949 Event

Buys Denmark's first plastic injection-molding machine and begins producing 'Automatic Binding Bricks.' They don't sell well at first. Retailers return them. His son Godtfred redesigns them with tubes inside that create a tight clutch. The modern LEGO brick is born.

How did it feel when retailers returned your Automatic Binding Bricks? Was your son Godtfred's redesign his idea or yours? What made you bet on plastic when Denmark loved wood?

1958 Event

Patents the interlocking brick design on January 28. The clutch power is the secret. Two eight-stud bricks can be combined in 24 ways. Three bricks: 1,060 ways. Six bricks: over 915 million combinations.

Did you grasp that six bricks could combine 915 million ways? What's the secret of clutch power in plain language? Was January 28, 1958 just another workday to you?

1958 Death

Dies in Billund at 66. His son Godtfred takes over. The company will grow from a Danish workshop into the world's largest toy manufacturer. Billund, once a village of 500, builds an airport.

Would it surprise you that Billund now has an airport because of your bricks? What would you build if you had unlimited LEGO today? Did you imagine children on every continent playing with your invention?