Ruth Handler

Ruth Handler invented an anatomically improbable molded plastic statuette named Barbie. Since its debut in 1959,  the Barbie doll has become an American icon that functions as both a steady outlet for girls' dreams and an ever changing reflection of American society. This can be seen in the history of Barbie's clothes, and even her various "face lifts" to suit the times; in her professional, political and charitable endeavors; and more recently in the multi-culturalizing of her product line.

Inventor: Ruth Handler Criteria: First to invent. First to patent. Entrepreneur. Birth: November. 4, 1916 in Denver, Colorado, Ruth Mosko Death: April 27, 2002 in Los Angeles, California Nationality: American, of Polish immigrant parents..

Invention: Barbie® doll in 1959 Function: noun / Trademark (Reg, U,S.) Definition: A small-scale anatomically improbable molded plastic figure of a human being used especially as a child's plaything. Collectable doll. Trademark: Reg. No. 0689055 issued December 1, 1959

Milestones: 1916 Ruth Mosko was born November. 4, 1916 in Denver, Colorado 1938 Ruth married Elliot Handler 1945 Mattel founded by Harold Matson, Elliot Handler and Ruth Handler to make picture frames 1946 Matson sells his interest to the Handlers. Mattel makes and sells doll house furniture 1959 Ruth invents a three dimension doll named Barbie 1960 The success of the Barbie doll led Mattel to become a publicly-owned company 1967 Ruth Handler becomes President of Mattel, Inc. 1974 The Handlers leave the Mattel company 2002 On April 27, Ruth Handler dies in Los Angeles, California after a long fight against cancer barbie, barbie doll, Ruth Handler, Elliot Handler, Harold Matson, Mattel, inventor, biography, profile, history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of, fascinating facts.

STORY:
Since its debut in 1959, an anatomically improbable molded plastic statuette named Barbie has become an icon. Ruth Handler undeniably invented an American icon that functions as both a steady outlet for girls' dreams and an ever changing reflection of American society. This can be seen in the history of Barbie's clothes, and even her various "face lifts" to suit the times; in her professional, political and charitable endeavors; and more recently in the multi-culturalizing of her product line. The Mattel company traces its beginnings to 1945, when a fledgling Mattel began operating out of a garage workshop. The original founders were Harold Matson, Elliot Handler and Ruth Handler, who coined "Mattel" by combining letters of their last and first names. The first Mattel product was picture frames, but Elliot soon developed a side business in doll house furniture made from picture frame scraps— which led to an emphasis on toys.
Matson soon sold out to his partners, and Elliot and his wife, Ruth, steadily expanded Mattel’s product line. Encouraged by the success of the doll furniture, they turned the company’s emphasis to toys. The Uke-A-Doodle, a child-size ukulele, was the first in a line of musical toys. A hand-crank, patented music box gave Mattel its first "staple" business, and versions of this product helped generate much of the company’s revenue in the ‘50s and ‘60s. In 1955, Mattel also introduced another highly successful product, the Burp Gun, an automatic cap gun based on a patented mechanism.
Also in 1955 came another, even more important turning point for Mattel. In a move that would eventually revolutionize the way toys were marketed, the Handlers bought 52 weeks of advertising on the new "Mickey Mouse Club" television show, marking the first time toys had been advertised on a year-round basis. In conjunction with the company’s sponsorship of the show, Mattel introduced a child-size "Mouseguitar," which became an instant sensation in the industry.
Mattel followed its musical toy success with a line of replica rifles and guns that reflected the 1950s popularity of Western-themed television shows like "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke."
In 1959, Ruth Handler became convinced, from watching her daughter, Barbara, play with paper dolls, that girls use dolls to act out future, rather than current, roles. (Barbara consistently preferred teenager or career women cutouts to babies or children.) “I believed it was important to a little girl’s self-esteem,” Handler has said, “to play with a doll that has breasts.” Ruth Handler suggested making a three-dimensional doll through which little girls could act out their dreams.
She named the doll "Barbie," which was the nickname of her real-life daughter. The doll was loosely based on a racy German comic-book character named Lilli, Barbie was introduced at the 1959 toy fair in New York City. By that summer, the doll had rocketed to the top of every American girl’s wish list.
The success of the Barbie doll led Mattel to become a publicly-owned company in 1960. Within five years, Mattel would join the ranks of companies on the Fortune list of the 500 largest U.S. industrial companies.
The early ‘60s also saw Mattel entering the worldwide toy market. The Barbie doll and other products were first test-marketed overseas in 1963, and were received so favorably that many products began to be manufactured under licensing agreements arranged by the company in England, France, Germany, South Africa, Italy and Mexico. In 1964, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Mattel S.A., opened its first sales office in Switzerland as a headquarters for the company’s worldwide marketing program.
During the ‘60s, the company created some of its most successful early products, including Thingmaker (featuring Creepy Crawlers) and two classic talking toys, Chatty Cathy and See ‘N Say. In 1968, Mattel introduced Hot Wheels miniature vehicles, another landmark product that helped the company reach out and capture boys’ imaginations the way the Barbie doll did for girls. In 1998, Hot Wheels celebrated its 30^th anniversary and reached a milestone when the two-billionth car was produced. That makes Mattel the producer of more vehicles than Detroit’s big three car manufacturers combined.
By the early ‘70s, Mattel was generating $300 million in annual revenues. During this time period, the company began to diversify, acquiring a number of non-toy companies. These included Ringling Brothers And Barnum And Bailey Circus; Circus World, a theme park;
Metaframe, a pet products company; Turco, a manufacturer of playground equipment; Western Publishing Company, publishing under the popular Golden Book name; and even a motion picture production company—Radnitz/Mattel Productions—which produced the Academy Award-nominated feature film "Sounder."
The Handlers left Mattel in the mid-70s.

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