Ole Kirk Christiansen

Lore & Background

Christiansen was born on 7 April 1891 in Omvraa Mark, Filskov, South Jutland, Denmark, one of 13 children of a farm labourer. Despite his family's poverty, he attended only a village school (grundskole) and later technical school. From age six, while working as a farmhand, he developed a fascination with whittling wood. In 1905, at age 14, he began an apprenticeship with his older brother, and after military service and study at Haslev Technical School, he worked as a carpenter in Germany before returning to Denmark.

In 1916, Christiansen settled in Billund and bought a carpentry shop, naming it Billund Maskinsnedkeri og Tømrerforretning. The business focused on building restoration and household goods. In 1924, a fire caused by his sons destroyed both workshop and family home, prompting him to build a larger workshop. By 1930, he employed a small workforce. The Great Depression forced him to lay off staff and eventually dismiss his last worker; to sell more products, he began producing cheap wooden toys in 1932, officially founding an unnamed company that year despite his siblings' objections.

In 1934, Christiansen named the company Lego, a shortened form of the Danish 'Leg godt' meaning 'play well.' The company shifted to plastic bricks after purchasing a plastic injection moulding machine in 1947. In 1949, it produced the Automatic Binding Brick, a precursor to the modern brick. The modern Lego brick with clutch power design, using ABS plastic, was patented in Copenhagen on 28 January 1958. Christiansen died of cardiac arrest on 11 March 1958, just before his son Godtfred used the Automatic Binding Brick as the basis for the 'System of Play.'

Reader's Guide

Ole Kirk Christiansen's significance lies in his founding of the Lego Group, which grew from a small carpentry shop into a globally recognized toy company. His decision during the Great Depression to shift from household products to wooden toys, and later to plastic bricks, demonstrated adaptability and a commitment to children's development. The company's core philosophy, expressed in the name Lego ('play well'), was established by Christiansen in 1934 and continues to guide the brand. His acquisition of a plastic injection moulding machine in 1947, despite its high cost, marked a pivotal transition that led to the creation of the Lego brick, patented in 1958. Christiansen's legacy is commemorated by Billund's central square (Ole Kirks Plads), the Lego House exhibit, the Ole Kirk's Foundation established in 1964, and a park in Rome named Parco Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 2023. His perseverance through economic hardship and two factory fires, and his focus on quality toys, laid the foundation for a company that would become synonymous with creative play.

Did You Know?

• Christiansen was one of 13 children of a farm labourer and began working as a farmhand at age six.
• In 1924, his sons accidentally set fire to wood shavings in the workshop, burning down both the workshop and family home.
• The name Lego is a shortened form of the Danish phrase 'Leg godt,' meaning 'play well.'
• Christiansen's company was the first toy manufacturer in Denmark to purchase a plastic injection moulding machine, in 1947.