INVENTOR

Frank Hornby

1863 - 1936

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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 invention and production of three of the most popular lines of toys based on engineering principles in the 20th century: Meccano, Hornby Model Railways and Dinky Toys. He also founded the British toy company Meccano Ltd in 1908, and launched a monthly publication, Meccano Magazine in 1916. Hornby's inventions and initiatives made him a millionaire in the 1930s. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 15 different languages on Wikipedia. Frank Hornby is the 416th most popular inventor (down from 413th in 2024), the 6,357th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 5,919th in 2019) and the 69th most popular British Inventor.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Frank Hornby ranks 416 out of 426. Before him are Lawrence Hargrave, Charles F. Kettering, Arunachalam Muruganantham, Arthur Fry, Walter Frederick Morrison, and Sarah E. Goode. After him are Richard Pearse, David Hahn, Curt O. Schaller, Shiva Ayyadurai, Boyan Slat, and Jarkko Oikarinen.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1863, Frank Hornby ranks 178. Before him are Sándor Bródy, Walter Migula, Gonzalo Córdova, Reginald McKenna, John Bunny, and William Gibbs McAdoo.  Among people deceased in 1936, Frank Hornby ranks 190. Before him are Hermanus Brockmann, Alice Davenport, Louis-Gustave Binger, John McKenna, Edmund Breese, and George Dern. After him is Thomas Meighan.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Frank Hornby ranks 6,353 out of 8,785. After him are Anya Chalotra (1996), George Etherege (1635), Finola Hughes (1959), Tom Tugendhat (1973), John Leckie (1949), Phil Brown (1962), Charles Holden (1875), Graham Brady (1967), Ian Hancock (1942), Phil Thompson (1954), Anthony Moore (1948), and Emily Faithfull (1835).

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Among INVENTORS In United Kingdom

Among inventors born in United Kingdom, Frank Hornby ranks 69. Before him are Barnes Wallis (1887), William Friese-Greene (1855), Edd China (1971), John Whitehurst (1713), Roger C. Field (1945), and Lawrence Hargrave (1850).

British born Inventors

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