Alfred Carlton Gilbert (February 15, 1884 – January 24, 1961) was an American inventor, athlete, magician, toy-maker and businessman. Gilbert invented the

Erector Set Erector Set (trademark styled as "ERECTOR") was a brand of metal toy construction sets which were originally patented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and first sold by his company, the Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut in 1913. In ...

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 acade ...

and attended

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wo ...

in nearby

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850, then incorpor ...

, 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 university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, financing his education by working as a magician, 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, ...

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, held at Celtic Park, New York, in 1906. He tied for gold with fellow American Edward Cook at the 1908 Summer Olympics 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

, a construction toy, in 1913 (preceded by the similar

Meccano Meccano is a brand of model construction system created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nut ...

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 The Four Minute Men were a group of volunteers authorized by United States President Woodrow Wilson to give four-minute speeches on topics given to them by the Committee on Public Information (CPI). In 1917–1918, over 750,000 speeches were give ...

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 set A chemistry set is an educational toy allowing the user (typically a teenager) to perform simple chemistry experiments. History Forerunners The forerunners of the chemistry set were 17th century books on "natural magick", "which all exce ...

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 invisi ...

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 American Flyer is a brand of toy train and model railroad manufactured in the United States. The Chicago era, 1907–1938 Although best remembered for the S gauge trains of the 1950s that it made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Comp ...

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 Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

. 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 The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was a toy lab set that was produced by Alfred Carlton Gilbert, who was an American athlete, magician, toy-maker, business man, and inventor of the well-known Erector Set. The Atomic Energy Lab was released by t ...

, 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 Carnotite is a potassium uranium vanadate radioactive mineral with chemical formula K2( U O2)2( VO4)2·3 H2O. The water content can vary and small amounts of calcium, barium, magnesium, iron, and sodium are often present. Occurrence Carnotite ...

torbernite Torbernite is a radioactive, hydrated green copper uranyl phosphate mineral, found in granites and other uranium-bearing deposits as a secondary mineral. Its name derives from the Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman (1735–1784), It is also known ...

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 ...

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 Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census. History The peaceful tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the ...

called Maraldene which included kennels where Gilbert bred

German shepherds The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for h ...

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 ...

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 foo ...

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 John Devereaux Wrather Jr. (May 24, 1918 – November 12, 1984), was an entrepreneur and petroleum businessman who became a television producer and later diversified by investing in broadcast stations and resort properties. He is best known for p ...

. 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, 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 ...

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

. He was portrayed by Jason Alexander. The film takes several historical liberties. It debuted December 15, 2002.

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)