Alfred Carlton Gilbert (February 15, 1884 – January 24, 1961) was an American inventor,

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

, toy-maker and businessman. Gilbert invented the Erector Set and manufactured American Flyer Trains.

Early life and education

Gilbert was educated at the

Tualatin Academy Tualatin Academy was a secondary school in the U.S. state of Oregon that eventually became Pacific University. Tualatin Academy also refers to the National Register of Historic Places-listed college building constructed in 1850 to house the academ ...

and attended Pacific University in nearby Forest Grove, Oregon, where he was a member of the Gamma Sigma Fraternity. He left Pacific after 1902 and transferred to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, financing his education by working as a

, and earning a degree in medicine. His thesis had the title ''The Genito-Urinary Phenomena of Athletes''. An accomplished athlete, he broke the world record for consecutive

chin-up A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands, gripping a bar or other implement at a distance typically wider than shoulder-width, and pulled up. As this happens, t ...

s (39) in 1900 and distance record for running long dive in 1902. He invented the pole vault box and set two world records in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

including a record for 12′ 3″ (3.66 meters) at the Spring meet of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

, held at Celtic Park, New York, in 1906. He tied for gold with fellow American Edward Cook at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

in London for pole vaulting.

Career

Choosing not to pursue a medical career, Gilbert co-founded Mysto Manufacturing, a manufacturer of magic sets, in 1907. This company later became the

A. C. Gilbert Company The A. C. Gilbert Company was an American toy company, once one of the largest in the world. Gilbert originated the Erector Set, which is a construction toy similar to Meccano in the rest of the world, and made chemistry sets, microscope kits, ...

. Gilbert developed the Erector Set, a construction toy, in 1913 (preceded by the similar Meccano set conceived by

Frank Hornby Frank Hornby (15 May 1863 – 21 September 1936) was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the inven ...

in 1898 which he developed and patented as "Mechanics Made Easy" in 1901). His inspiration was steel construction girders used on the

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. In 1918, with the United States embroiled in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Council of National Defense The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial s ...

considering a ban on toy production, Gilbert argued successfully against it. The press gave him the nickname "The man who saved Christmas.". Gilbert had by then contributed to the war effort by becoming one of the Four Minute Men who gave short lectures to movie audiences, thus encouraging citizens to purchase

war bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...

. By 1935, his company had sold more than 30 million of the Erector sets. He also added chemistry sets,

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

sets, and other educational toys to his product line, accumulating more than 150 patents during his 50-year career. In 1938, he acquired the rights to the American Flyer toy train line from W. O. Coleman and moved their production from Chicago to New Haven. At the same time, he adopted a 3/16 scale for this train line while keeping the three-rail O-gauge track then associated with Lionel, a competitor. Following World War II, O-gauge track was abandoned in favor of two-rail S-gauge track. Gilbert was lauded for his adherence to scale realism, making American Flyer trains look more real and less toylike. Gilbert is credited with originating the concept of providing benefits for his employees, including free medical and legal advice and maternity leave. In 1915 he founded the Toy Manufacturers of America trade association and was its first president. Frustrated that invention was an important part of American society not taught in schools, in 1941 Gilbert opened the Gilbert Hall of Science in New York City, a science and technology museum. It served the dual purpose of promoting interest in science and selling Gilbert's products. In 1950–1951 he marketed the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory, which contained radioactive ore samples of

autunite Autunite (hydrated calcium uranyl phosphate), with formula Ca(UO2)2(PO4)2·10–12H2O, is a yellow-greenish fluorescent phosphate mineral with a hardness of 2–. Autunite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and often occurs as tabular square ...

, carnotite, torbernite and

uraninite Uraninite, formerly pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U3O8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes t ...

Personal life

In 1908, he married Mary Thompson, whom he had met at Pacific University. They had three children: two girls and a boy. In the 1930s they lived in a property in Hamden, Connecticut called Maraldene which included kennels where Gilbert bred German shepherds including one which won the

Max von Stephanitz Captain Max Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz (December 30, 1864 – 22 April 1936) was a German cavalry officer and dog breeder who is credited with having developed the German Shepherd Dog breed as it is currently known, set guidelines for the br ...

award. He also owned a nearby 600-acre estate that he called ''Paradise''. He used it for hunting and it housed his big-game trophies. It was a venue for him to entertain clients, and guests attending the

Yale Bowl The Yale Bowl Stadium is a college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in New Haven, Connecticut, on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles (2½ km) west of the main campus of Yale University. The home of the American footb ...

Later years

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 to Jack Wrather. It went out of business in 1967, although the Erector trademark continued to be used.

Legacy

A museum in Gilbert's birthplace of Salem, Oregon,

A. C. Gilbert's Discovery Village The Gilbert House Children's Museum is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) children's museum within Riverfront Park located in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1989. The museum has 16 hands-on S.T.E.A.M. exhibits, a 20,000 ft² Outdoor Disco ...

, is named in his honor. The museum comprises several historic structures, including the house of Gilbert's uncle Andrew T. Gilbert. It opened in 1989. The television movie ''

The Man Who Saved Christmas ''The Man Who Saved Christmas'' is a film based on the true story about the efforts of toymaker Alfred Carlton Gilbert (portrayed by Jason Alexander) of the A. C. Gilbert Company to continue making toys during World War I. First broadcast on CBS t ...

'' is a dramatization of Christmas during the years 1917 and 1918 when America was involved in

. He was portrayed by

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

. The film takes several historical liberties. It debuted December 15, 2002. Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, has a residential hall named after him that was opened in 2009.

Publications

''Gilbert Mysto Magic''
(1919) *''Gilbert Chemical Magic'' (1920) *''Gilbert Handkerchief Tricks for Boys'' (1920) *''Gilbert Hydraulic and Pneumatic Engineering'' (1920) *''Gilbert Knots & Splices with Rope-Tying Tricks'' (1920) *''Gilbert Magnetic Fun and Facts'' (1920) *''Roar of the Rails'' (1944) *''Fun With Gilbert Chemistry'' (1946) *''American Flyer Instruction Book'' (1952) *''The Man Who Lives in Paradise'' (1954)