Alfred Carlton Gilbert
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Alfred Carlton Gilbert (February 13, 1884 - January 24, 1961), was an American inventor, athlete, toymaker and businessman. Born in Salem, Oregon and died in New Haven, Connecticut, Gilbert is best known as the inventor of the Erector Set.
Gilbert financed his education at Yale University by working as a magician, earning a degree in sports medicine. An accomplished athlete, he broke the world record for consecutive chinups (39) in 1900, distance record for running long dive in 1902, and height in the pole vault. He won a gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in pole vaulting.
Choosing not to pursue a medical career, Gilbert co-founded a company manufacturing magic sets in 1909. This company would later become the A. C. Gilbert Company. Gilbert invented the Erector set, a popular construction toy, in 1913. His inspiration was steel construction girders being used on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. In 1918, with the United States embroiled in World War I and the Council of National Defense considering a ban on toy production, Gilbert argued successfully against it. The press gave him the nickname "The man who saved Christmas."
By 1935, he had sold more than 30 million of the sets. He also added chemistry sets, microscope sets, and other educational toys to his product line, accumulating more than 150 patents during his 50-year career.
Gilbert is also credited with originating the concept of providing benefits for his employees, co-founded the Toy Manufacturers of America organization and was its first president.
Frustrated that invention was an important part of American society but not taught in schools, in 1941 Gilbert opened the Gilbert Hall of Science in New York City, an early science and technology museum. It served the dual purpose of promoting interest in science and selling Gilbert's products.
Upon his retirement in 1954, Gilbert turned his company over to his son. The same year, he published his autobiography, titled The Man Who Lives in Paradise. After his death in 1961, the family sold its remaining shares in the A. C. Gilbert Company. It went out of business six years later.
A museum in Gilbert's birthplace of Salem, Oregon is named in his honor. It opened in 1989. A biography titled The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made was published in 2002.
External links
- A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village (http://www.acgilbert.org)
- The A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society (http://www.acghs.org/)