John William Odell, OBE (19 March 1920 – 7 July 2007) was the English inventor of Matchbox toys and the engineer responsible for their unique design.[1] He joined with partners Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith to form Lesney Products.[2]
The company initially made small products for cars such as dashboards and doorhandles. Odell designed a small steamroller in 1952 for his daughter to take to school. It proved to be a big hit for her and her friends. The company started manufacturing small toys to meet the demand with a million copies of a small coach sold during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.[3] The first 3 vehicles were a road roller, Muir Hill dumper and a cement mixer. All were introduced in 1953.[1]
By 1966, more than 100 million Matchbox toys were sold each year. Odell retired in 1973 but returned in 1981 when Lesney ran into financial problems.[2] The company was declared insolvent in 1982 and sold to Universal Toys.[1]
He founded Lledo, a small vehicle model manufacturing company, and was active in that business until 1999 when he retired.[2] Odell had Parkinson's disease when he died in July 2007.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdJack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead, New York Times, July 17 2007
^Miller, Stephen (14 July 2007). "Matchbox Founder, With an Eye For Detail, Popularized Miniature Toys". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
This article about a British businessperson born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
jack, odell, john, william, odell, march, 1920, july, 2007, english, inventor, matchbox, toys, engineer, responsible, their, unique, design, joined, with, partners, leslie, smith, rodney, smith, form, lesney, products, company, initially, made, small, products. John William Odell OBE 19 March 1920 7 July 2007 was the English inventor of Matchbox toys and the engineer responsible for their unique design 1 He joined with partners Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith to form Lesney Products 2 The company initially made small products for cars such as dashboards and doorhandles Odell designed a small steamroller in 1952 for his daughter to take to school It proved to be a big hit for her and her friends The company started manufacturing small toys to meet the demand with a million copies of a small coach sold during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 3 The first 3 vehicles were a road roller Muir Hill dumper and a cement mixer All were introduced in 1953 1 By 1966 more than 100 million Matchbox toys were sold each year Odell retired in 1973 but returned in 1981 when Lesney ran into financial problems 2 The company was declared insolvent in 1982 and sold to Universal Toys 1 He founded Lledo a small vehicle model manufacturing company and was active in that business until 1999 when he retired 2 Odell had Parkinson s disease when he died in July 2007 1 References edit a b c d Jack Odell 87 Designer of Matchbox Cars Is Dead New York Times July 17 2007 a b c Times Online Jack Odell obituary Miller Stephen 14 July 2007 Matchbox Founder With an Eye For Detail Popularized Miniature Toys Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved 23 March 2021 nbsp This article about a British businessperson born in the 1920s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jack Odell amp oldid 1083119994, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
