How did Ole Kirk Christiansen invent legos?

Answer 1

Kiddicraft was the predecessor of LEGO. It was founded in 1932 by Hilary Harry Fisher Page (1904-1957), who created the self-locking bricks.

Conventional wisdom has it that Lego, whose interlocking plastic shapes have fascinated generations of children, was the brainchild of a Danish village carpenter, Ole Kirk Christiansen. From humble beginnings in the Jutland farming community of Billund, 150 miles west of Copenhagen, he created a family empire with estimated world-wide annual sales of $1 billion in 130 countries.

In 1939 Hilary Page applied for a patent for 'Toy Building Blocks' In this and subsequent patents he described hollow bricks with 4 and 8 studs on top. These 'Self Locking Bricks' were manufactured as a Hilary Page 'Sensible' Toy, made in England after the 1939-45 war.

Lego copied the design of the Kiddicraft brick after examining a sample given to them by the British supplier of an injection moulding machine they had purchased. Page was never aware of this, and his daughter has stated that she "was relieved that my father never knew about Lego before he died." Lego eventually acquired the rights to Kiddicraft in 1981 prior to beginning litigation against Tyco.

By aquiring the patents, Lego built a corporate and marketing vision that they had in fact created the system, and not crediting the original inventor. This is sadly true of the toy industry which is highly competitive. Since seeking the protect the design themselves by challenging other manufacturers, they have lost the patent they so highly valued and now other companies can make the self locking bricks.

Hilary Page was born in 1904 and sadly committed suicide in 1957. During the years 1932 to 1957 he changed the face of the British toy industry and created some of the classic pre-school toys played with by children today, and his vision for toys was due to his mechanical engineering knowledge and his wifes profession in psychology. The bricks were originally designed to help children with low motor control abilities stack and build, especially for children with special needs.