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Subject: 
A Lego History Project
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.general
Date: 
Sun, 6 Nov 2005 23:49:33 GMT
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For sime time I have been working on a site about Lego history.

Although there are plenty of Lego timelines and histories on the internet none are sufficiently complete for the AFOL. I hope this project solves some of these issues. The site is not online yet but here is the beginning of my timeline without the photos, set images, parts, tables, or any of the cool stuff. In effect, a teaser. Let me know what you think.


***************************************************

1891 - Introduction

The Kirk Christiansens

For 3 generations Lego has been owned and run by a single family; the Kirk Christiansens of Billund, Denmark. Ole Kirk Christiansen was born 7 April 1891 in Filskov, a small village in the farming and dairy country of central Jutland. One of 10 children in a poor family he was put to work as soon as possible. He attended school 2 days a week learning reading and writing and spent the rest of the time tending the family’s livestock. At age 13 he was apprenticed to his older brother, Kristian Bonde Christiansen, who was a carpenter. After learning the basics of the trade he worked in Germany and Norway from 1911 to 1916.

Ole returned to Billund at the age of 25 and with his savings from working abroad he bought a woodworking shop where he began his carpentry work and later his toy business. He married Kirstine Sorensen, whom he met while in Norway, around 1916. They had 4 sons: Johannes (b.1917), Karl Georg (1919), Godtfred (8 Jul 1920) and Gerhardt (1926). Kirstine died in 1932, leaving OKC to look after the children. Two years later he married Sofie Jorgensen and they had a daughter, Ulla (1935).

Early on, Ole involved his children in the business. Godtfred began working in the company when he was 12, by the age of 17 he was designing models and by age 24 he was his father’s right hand man. He was named Junior Vice President in 1950. The next year Ole suffered a stroke and Godtfred assumed most of the management responsibilities as Ole’s heath declined. Godtfred became managing director in 1957 and chairman in 1958 after Ole died.

In fact, all of OKC’s children were involved in the business. By the late 1940’s Karl Georg was in charge of plastics production, Gerhardt was in charge of wood manufacturing and Johannes was responsible for truck deliveries.

Godtfred and his wife Edith had 3 children, Gunhild, Kjeld (27 December 1947) and Hanne. Like his father, Godtfred involved the children in the business at an early age. Package designs from the 1950’s show all 3 of the children playing with Lego bricks. In particular, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen (the spelling was a clerical error at his birth) showed promise as an imaginative builder and GKC looked to him as a source of product development. After his secondary education Kjeld joined the staff of the German subsidiary as a trainee.

In October 1969 Hanne and Kjeld were driving home from a movie in the neighboring town of Give. Their car skidded off the road and hit a tree. Hanne was killed and Kjeld was seriously injured. The tragedy so shook Godtfred that he seriously considered selling the company.

Kjeld went on to receive a B.Sc. in Economics and Business Administration from the Arhus School of Business, and then an MBA in 1972 from IMB in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1973 he returned to the family enterprise as co-director of the LEGO Company’s technical R&D department and of its first foreign production plant in Switzerland. In 1979 he succeeded his father as CEO. Godtfred died 13 July 1995.

Gunhild, who married and is now Gunhild Kirk Johansen, did not follow her brother into the Lego company but is co-owner (with Kjeld) of Kirkbi AG, the Swiss holding company that owns the patents and intellectual property of the Lego Group. Her husband Mogans Johansen sits on the Lego board of directors.

Kjeld married Camilla in 1974 and they have 3 children, Sofie (1975), Thomas (1977) and Agnetes (1982). It does not appear that any of Kjeld’s children will succeed him: In October 2004 Kjeld stepped down after 25 years as CEO and the first non-family member, Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, was appointed to run the company.


1916

The Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tomreforrenting

Ole returned to central Jutland from Norway in 1916, and using his savings from abroad, bought the Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tomreforretning (The Billund Carpentry Shop and Lumberyard), which was originally established in 1895.

At the time Billund was little more than several buildings clustered around the road that lead from Vejle to Grindsted on the vast heath-covered moors. Most of the community lived out on the surrounding farms or plantations(plantage). For over 2 centuries the Danish have tried to cultivate the sandy soil, with varying amounts of success, and by the turn of the century the area was primarily hog and dairy farming. Billund was first connected to the railway leading west from Vejle in 1914 and built it’s first power station in 1917.

About this time Ole married Kirstine Sorensen and they started a family; Johannes was born in 1917, Karl Georg in 1919, Godtfred in 1920 and Gerhardt in 1926.

Ole would spend the spring and summer working on construction and home repairs for the farmers and would make furniture in the winter. He started with small local repair jobs and, as the community began to grow, he began to be awarded larger projects. An early commission around 1918 for a church hall in Almstok was followed by diaries in Billund and Randbol and a church in Skjoldberg.

Throughout the 1920’s the business was a struggle. Even in good times the regions’ farmers were cash-strapped and Ole was often on the verge of bankruptcy.

In 1924, while their parents were asleep, Karl Georg and Godtfred set fire to some wood shavings with a glue smelter and the shop and the Kirk Christiansen house burned to the ground. Undaunted, Ole had an architect draw up plans and built a new, larger building. In fact, the building was much larger than he could afford. Ole and his family lived in a single apartment next to the shop in the back and rented the rest of the rooms out. The new building, which would be known for its large dormer and 2 lions flanking the front door, is now part of the Lego group and is one of only a few of Ole’s buildings that still exist.

Oles unshakable self-confidence was rooted in a strong religious faith. His family had long been active in the Indre Mission, a Danish evangelical movement of the Lutheran Church. As Godtfred recounts in 1982:

“I am convinced that father’s faith in God, which was evident in everything he did, helped carry him through his grief and the difficulties that followed...His faith made him a active man. It gave him the courage and solace that enabled him to take on new responsibilities - and the strength to see a job through despite hardship.”

Or, in one of Ole’s classic quotes: “Life is a gift, but it’s more than just that. Life is a challenge.”

***************************************************

Jim

jhughes.at.fuse.net



Message has 3 Replies:
  Re: A Lego History Project
 
(...) Hey Jim, Thanks for the Lego family history. It is very interesting to note that the first Lego outside of Denmark, was sold in Norway in 1953. No we know why! Good Researching!! Gary Istok (19 years ago, 7-Nov-05, to lugnet.general, FTX)
  Re: A Lego History Project
 
(...) This sounds like some GREAT info for BrickWiki! Jake --- Jake McKee Webmaster - (URL) BIP> (19 years ago, 7-Nov-05, to lugnet.general, FTX)
  Re: A Lego History Project
 
Are there more news about this project? It looks very interesting! (URL) (16 years ago, 1-May-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)

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