He married … He turned to work in a factory, then eventually transitioned to woodwork and afterwards a master-carpenter. Together, they had four children: Johannes, Karl, Godtfred and Gerhardt. April 7, 1891 is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". The primary income, which was from sales of ladders and ironing boards, was shrinking in demand. Ole Kirk Christiansen(7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Danish carpenter. When Knudstorp was named CEO in September 2004, he became the first person from outside the family of LEGO Group founder Ole Kirk Christiansen (or Kristiansen) to hold that position.… [1] He turned to work in a factory, then eventually transitioned to woodwork and afterwards a master-carpenter. Christiansen was born inFilskov, South Jutland, Denmark, the 10th child of an impoverished family inJutland. Follow the family's story from Denmark where Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys in his Billund Carpentry Shop and Lumberyard to the company's evolution to the LEGO company. [4][1], During the early 1930s, Ole's business fell into the Great Depression as its peak rose in Denmark. His father, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, worked with his grandfather, Ole Kirk Christiansen, in the family business: Lego. In 1947 he was visited by a salesman from Hull who represented a British machine-tool company trying to find new markets for their injection molding equipment. Ole Kirk Christiansen passed away on the 11th of March 1958. Generation generation). On the night of 22 March 1942, a short circuit caused an electrical fire and the LEGO factory and warehouse burned down. By 1944, LEGO had 40 employees. After much consideration, it was decided to discontinue production of wooden toys and to concentrate solely on plastic toys. Ole Kirk's grandson Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the current vice chairman of the board of LEGO. 0.1 mm in relation to the Kiddicraft brick. He was one of 10 children of Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine (Andersen) Christiansen. The Kristiansen Family (Toy Trailblazers) by Lee Slater | Dec 15, 2015. (Godtfred Kirk Christiansen). Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. He was chief executive from 1979 until 2004, when Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, a former McKinsey consultant, became the new Chairman of the Board. As a result, two of the brothers; Karl Georg and Gerhardt decided to leave the LEGO company and start their own separate business, BILOfix. Date of Death: He was the 10th of the pair Jens Niels Christiansen and Kristine Christiansen, born in the Omvraa Mark, Blåhøj-Filskov parish, Vejle, Denmark. March 11, 1958 (Aged 66) Ole Kirk's grandson Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is the current vice chairman of the board of LEGO. Ole's 60th birthday, 1951. [1], Kristiansen was born in Filskov, South Jutland, Denmark, the 10th child of an impoverished family in Jutland. [1], In 1924, Karl and Godtfred began to tinker with wood shavings. On a Sunday afternoon in 1924, while Ole and Kirstine were napping, Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen (then 5 years old) and Godtfred Kirk Christiansen were playing in the shop and set fire to some wood shavings with a glue smelter. Something very big. Ole Kirk Kristiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Danish carpenter. On 4 February 1960, the LEGO department for wooden toy production was struck by lightning and burned down. Hailed as the “Toy of the Century,” the plastic Lego bricks that make up the Lego System of Play were invented by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a master carpenter, and his son, Godtfred Kirk. Find out about entrepreneur Ole Kirk Christiansen: He invented the term Lego, which came from the Danish words leg godt, meaning play well.. born: April 7, 1891, Filskov, Denmark,siblings: Kristian Bonde Christiansen,spouse: Kirstine Christiansen (m. 1916–1932),parents: Jens Niels Christiansen, Kirstine Christiansen… LEGO celebrates its 25th anniversary. After his death, his third son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, took over the company. His Billund Woodworking and Carpentry Shop, which built houses in the summer season and furniture during the winter, was severely affected by the Great Depression. [5] Eventually, Ole had to dismiss his last worker, and his wife died. 186915427, citing Grene Churchyard, Billund ... You have chosen this person to be their own family … He was born in 1891 in the village of Filskovand, Denmark and was the tenth child of Jens Niels Christiansen and Kirstine Christiansen. Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was the founder of the Danish construction toy company the LEGO Group.He was the 10th son of an impoverished family in Jutland in western Denmark.Born in Filskov, Denmark, he trained as a carpenter and started making wooden toys in 1932 to make a living after having lost his job during the depression. He was chief executive from 1979 until 2004, when Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, a former McKinsey consultant, became the new Chairman of the Board. [6] Ole decided to officially found an unnamed company (later to become LEGO) in 1932. He married (1) Hansine Kristine Sørensen (1892-1932) 1916 in Lindeballe. His Billund Woodworking and Carpentry Shop, which built houses in the summer season and furniture during the winter, was severely affected by the Great Depression. The next series of designs, from around 1935, included a number of animal models, including the classic pull-along LEGO Duck.These designs were more complex and often required jig work from a pattern; a pattern that Ole would carefully draft himself. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen was one of Ole Kirk’s sons, and worked with his father in the early days of LEGO. He is 129 years old and is a Aries. The LEGO workshop before fires 1930 (left) and 2005 (right) after three fires and lightning strokes. His family was quite poor but Ole managed to get a basic high school education. Godtfred protested the new expansion. Ole Kirk Christiansen was a Danish carpenter and creator of one of the most beloved childrens toy companies of all time, LEGO. Although in poverty, he was able to receive a basic high-school education. Find out about entrepreneur Ole Kirk Christiansen: He invented the term Lego, which came from the Danish words leg godt, meaning play well.. born: April 7, 1891, Filskov, Denmark,siblings: Kristian Bonde Christiansen,spouse: Kirstine Christiansen (m. 1916–1932),parents: Jens Niels Christiansen, Kirstine Christiansen… [1], On 11 March 1958, Kristiansen experienced a heart attack and died at the age of 66, and his third son Godtfred promptly took over the company until his death in 1995. In 1905, at the age of 14, Ole was apprenticed to his older brother Kristian to l… He was married to Kirstine Sørensen and father of Johannes Christiansen, Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen and Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen. By the age of six he was tending the family’s livestock. He died on March 11, 1958. Orig. His father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter, founded LEGO in 1932 out of necessity. When Ole Kirk Kristiansen imported a newfangled contraption called a plastic-injection-­molding machine to Denmark in 1946, people thought he’d lost his mind. Wood, typically birch, was brought in from the forest and air-dried for two years, then kiln-dried for three weeks. Carpentry business was poor and he had little money to feed his four sons. Undaunted, Ole had an architect draw up plans and built a new, larger building. Introduction The company LEGO officially began in 1932 in Denmark by the skilled hands of the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen, with the help of his son Godtfred, when he was only 12 years old. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 Apr 1891–11 Mar 1958), Find a Grave Memorial no. Ole was able to make items such as Christmas tree stands and toys. Generation generation). https://www.brickfanatics.com/the-lego-group-the-kristiansen-familys-company He first worked as a carpenter and later started creating unsuccessful toys for kids in Denmark after his wife's death and had to … It was Hilary Fisher Page’s Kiddicraft brick. In 1911, Ole left Denmark to work abroad as a carpenter, first in Germany, then in Norway. https://legokita.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-founder-family-and-ceo.html 14 $28.50 $28.50. A fire broke out consequently. Managing Director (1960) Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (July 8, 1920 – July 13, 1995) was the third son of Ole Kirk Christiansen, the founder of the LEGO Group. Notable: In 1949 LEGO produced its first plastic brick, a precursor to its signature brick with interlocking studs on the… Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is named Managing Director, Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen the director of plastics production and Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen the director of wood products manufacturing People born on a Tuesday have gr… titelsiden mangler. It was the company’s first factory designed for assembly line production. Ole’s first wood toys were large and simple in construction. It's hard to know Ole Kirk Christiansen birth time, but we do know his mother gave birth to his on a Tuesday. Gunhild Kirk Johansen, née Kristiansen, was born in 1946, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen in December 1947, and Hanne Kristiansen in 1949. In 1979, he became president and CEO of The Lego Group. 4.3 out of 5 stars 9. He was the 10th son of an impoverished family in Jutland in western Denmark. Ole's 60th birthday in 1951 and the Christiansen family as seen in The LEGO® Story. Add to Print List Remove from Print List Notes. It was the forerunner of the LEGO brick. Founding LEGO Ole Kirk Christiansen (April 7, 1891 – March 11, 1958) was the founder of The LEGO Group. Ole Kirk Christiansen. 1940 — World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung. Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was the founder of the Danish construction toy company the Lego Group. Nationality: The LEGO story started in a Danish woodworking shop in the days before electricity. Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømreforretning, https://brickipedia.fandom.com/wiki/Ole_Kirk_Christiansen?oldid=2004798. Danish In this engaging biography, readers will learn about the manufacturers of LEGO, the Kristiansen Family. All of Ole's sons assisted in his company, and in 1958 the LEGO Brick patent was created. 1947 Kiddicraft Male He was married to Kirstine Sørensen and father of Johannes Christiansen, Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen and Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen. After all, they had just paid off the 1942 factory and didn’t need to go right back into debt, but Ole simply said "I’ll decide what's to be built - your job is to raise the money!" In the middle of the Great Depression, Ole continued to make small household items and Wooden Toys. Against the advice of those around him, he bought one of the machines. Maren Ole Christiansdatter Kirk Født 28.Nov.1816 i Halkjær Marie Ole Christiansdatter Kirk Født 18.Nov.1817 i Kirkegaard Christen Ole Christiansen Kirk Født 03.Okt.1818 i Kirkegaard Sidsel Marie Olesdatter Kirk Født 31.Aug.1819 i Kirkegaard Christen Kirk Født 25.Aug.1820 i Kirkegaard Christine Olesdatter Kirk Født 20.Nov.1822 i Kirkegaard He chooses his own entry: LEGO. He was married to Kirstine Sörensen and he was the father of Johannes, Karl, Godtfred and Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen. Library Binding $24.14 $ 24. His father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter, founded LEGO in 1932 out of necessity. Ole Kirk Christiansen was the founder of the Danish construction toy company the LEGO Group. This was the start of something big. The new machine cost 30,000 DKK, more than twice the previous year's profits. He took out several loans and built a new, larger 2300-square-metre building on the same grounds as the old workshop. [10][11], MIT Lemelson Program, Ole Kirk Christiansen, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/christiansen-ole-kirk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5xLRj035BI, https://astrumpeople.com/ole-kirk-christiansen-biography/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdDU_BBJW9Y, "Lego minifigure creator Jens Nygaard Knudsen dies", https://www.thoughtco.com/ole-kirk-christiansen-lego-1991644, "Inventor of the Week: Ole Kirk Christiansen", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ole_Kirk_Christiansen&oldid=994868487, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 December 2020, at 23:24. Over time, Ole expanded the range with more, and more complex, wooden designs. Ole Kirk ChristiansenDanish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891-1958) founded The LEGO Group, one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. Many Many years ago, the carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen sat is his workshop wondering how he would make it through another year. He also appeared on many of the company's packages and marketing materials. The LEGO Group. The initials "G.I." Born in Filskov, Denmark, he trained as a carpenter and started making wooden toys in 1932 to make a living after having lost his job during the depression. The studs on the bricks were also flattened on top." This just managed to carry profits during the depression. As before, Ole rebuilt and carried on. For the next five years, Denmark would be under German occupation. The company used the highest quality of birch wood and sold a great variety of toys. After many months of deliberation, and thought, he decided to make wooden toys. Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 11 March 1958) was the founder of the Danish construction toy company the Lego Group. At the time, Billund was an obscure village, and Ole Kirk Christiansen was just a simple carpenter with ambition. Ole Kirk ChristiansenDanish toymaker Ole Kirk Christiansen (1891-1958) founded The LEGO Group, one of the world's largest toy manufacturers. [3] He married the daughter of a Norwegian cheese-maker, Kirstine Sorensen. The animal models were produced until 1958. Although in poverty, he was able to receive a basic high-school education. In 1932, Kirstine died, leaving Ole to raise their four sons alone. In 1947, he purchased a self-moulding machine and began production of plastic toys. Other articles where Ole Kirk Christiansen is discussed: LEGO: …the Billund, Denmark, workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen, who began making wooden toys in 1932. 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