Betty M. James (February 13, 1918 – November 20, 2008) was an American businessperson who came up with the name for the

Slinky The Slinky is a helical spring toy invented by Richard James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including travelling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its ow ...

her husband Richard T. James invented. She ran James Industries, the firm that manufactured the toy, by herself starting in 1960 after her husband left the firm and the family. She was born as Betty Mattas on February 13, 1918, in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

. She attended

Altoona Area High School Altoona Area High School (AAHS) is the public high school for the Altoona Area School District in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The high school serves the communities of Altoona, Logan Township, and a small portion of Tyrone Township. The school dis ...

and then

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, leaving when she married Richard.Hevesi, Dennis
"Betty James, Who Named the Slinky Toy, Is Dead at 90"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 24, 2008. Accessed November 25, 2008. Her husband, an engineer, conceived of the toy in 1943 while working at Cramp Shipbuilding Yard in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia after a

torsion spring A torsion spring is a spring that works by twisting its end along its axis; that is, a flexible elastic object that stores mechanical energy when it is twisted. When it is twisted, it exerts a torque in the opposite direction, proportional ...

fell off a table and started flipping end-over-end across the floor. The following year, Betty came up with the name ''Slinky'' after leafing through the dictionary and thinking that the word described the motion of the spring. The couple made 400 of the toys and convinced the

Gimbels Gimbel Brothers (known simply as Gimbels) was an American department store corporation that operated for over a century, from 1842 until 1987. Gimbel patriarch Adam Gimbel opened his first store in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1842. In 1887, the compa ...

department store in Philadelphia to carry the toy for Christmas 1945 displayed on a ramp. These first models were all sold within 90 minutes at a price of $1 each. Betty James insisted upon keeping the original Slinky affordable. The Slinky toy sold for $1.00 in 1945. If the Slinky's sale price kept pace with inflation, the Slinky would have sold for $13.83 in 2018. In 1996, when the Slinky's retail price ranged from $1.89 to $2.69, she told The New York Times: "So many children can’t have expensive toys, and I feel a real obligation to them. I’m appalled when I go Christmas shopping and $60 to $80 for a toy is nothing." In 2008, Slinkys cost $4 to $5, and Slinky Dogs about $20. In the face of declining sales, her husband left the family and moved to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in 1960 to join

Wycliffe Bible Translators Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have objective of translating the Bible into every language. The organisation is named after John Wycliffe, who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole ...

. She took over management of the firm, and responsibility for the family's six children, running it for almost 40 years until selling the company to POOF Products of

Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 9,370 at the 2020 census. The city of Plymouth is surrounded by Plymouth Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Plymouth is a western suburb of Metro ...

in 1998. The Slinky Dog helped turn around the sales slump and a new version issued after a version featured in the 1995 movie ''

Toy Story ''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...

'' was another top seller. By the time of her death in 2008, Slinkys were priced from $4 to $5, with Slinky Dogs selling for about $20. More than 300 million Slinkys in all their variations had been sold in her lifetime. She was inducted into the

Toy Industry Hall of Fame The Toy Industry Hall of Fame recognizes the contributions of toy-makers around the world. It is maintained by the Toy Industry Foundation, an arm of the US Toy Industry Association. See also * National Toy Hall of Fame * List of toys and chi ...

in 2001. James died at age 90 on November 20, 2008, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

at the

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. It is consistently ranked as one of the top hospitals in the United States. Histor ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

.Clegg, Amanda
"Ex-Slinky CEO remembered as business icon"
''

Altoona Mirror The ''Altoona Mirror'' is a daily newspaper located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is the hometown newspaper for Altoona and serves all of Blair County as well as parts of surrounding counties. History The newspaper was founded on June 13, 1874 as ...

'', November 22, 2008. Accessed November 25, 2008. She had lived in

Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania Hollidaysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Blair County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located on the Juniata River, south of Altoona and is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, metropolitan statistical area. In 1900, 2,998 ...

, where James Industries was headquartered. Betty James was buried in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Betty Businesspeople from Pennsylvania People from Altoona, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State University alumni 1918 births 2008 deaths People from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American women