Jesse Shwayder (26 March 1882 - 24 July 1970) was the founder of
Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company, on 10 March 1910
The business made folding card tables and furniture under the "Samson" brand, named for the Biblical character. Shwayder, who was devoutly religious, had also named his son King David Shwayder.
In 1939 the company introduced a sleekly-designed new suitcase branded "Samsonite", with a tapered shape and vulcanized fiber covering, They began marketing all of their products under the Samsonite brand by 1941 and in 1965 the firm was renamed Samsonite Corporation after its best-selling product.
Shwayder retired in 1962, turning over control of the family-owned corporation to his son King David Shwayder and two able sons-in-law. In 1961 Godtfred Kirk Christiansen signed an agreement with King David Shwayder, at the time an executive of the company. The result was a 99-year license for exclusive North American distribution rights. Shwayder Brothers began marketing sets under the name LEGO by Samsonite in the US in 1961 and Canada in 1962. A licensing dispute ended the arrangement in the United States in 1972, but Samsonite remained the distributor in Canada until 1986.
Sources[]
| view · talk · edit The LEGO Group | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Management Board | Jesper Andersen \ Niels Christiansen \ Atul Bhardwaj \ Colette Burke \ Julia Goldin \ John Goodwin \ Bali Padda \ Carsten Rasmussen \ Loren I. Shuster | |||
| Board of Directors | Ebi Atawodi \ Fiona Dawson \ Jørgen Vig Knudstorp \ Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen \ Thomas Kirk Kristiansen \ Jan Thorsgaard Nielsen \ Ilkka Paananen \ Anne Sweeney | |||
| Community Team | Jan Beyer \ Tim Courtney \ Hani Dib \ Peter Espersen \ Kevin Hinkle \ John Longbottom \ Pelle Bjorn Nielsen \ Jordan Paxton \ José Pereira \ Kristina Rasmussen \ Keith Severson \ Sara Skahill \ Helene Teichert \ Kim Thomsen \ Hannah Quill | |||
| Designers | Henrik Andersen \ Steen Sig Andersen \ Jamie Berard \ Marcos Bessa \ Antica Bracanov \ Bas Brederode \ Mel Caddick \ Tiago Catarino \ Freddy Charters \ Andrew Clark \ Rosario Costa \ Nathan Davis \ Søren Dyrhøj Randy Elliot \ Greg Farshtey \ Marta Fernandez \ Niels M. Frederiksen \ Sven Franic \ Leigh Gallagher \ George Gilliatt \ Casper Glahder \ Ilia Gotlib \ Adam Grabowski \ Morten Graff-Wang \ Anderson Ward Grubb \ Janko Grujic \ Stuart Harris \ Lars Joe Hyldig \ Wes Jenkins \ Erik Jensen \ Samuel Liltorp Johnson \ Jens Nygaard Knudsen \ Rok Žgalin Kobe \ Daniel August Krentz \ Kurt Kristiansen \ Joe Kyde \ Edward Lawrence \ Benjamin Liboriussen \ Jeremy Luettgen \ Milan Madge \ Bjarke Lykke Madsen \ James May \ Carl Merriam \ Pop Mhan \ Florian Müller \ Pierre Normandin \ Jan Neergaard Olesen \ Madison O’Neil \ Chris Perron \ Laura Perron \ Harald Pofahl \ Mike Psiaki \ Leon Pijnenburg \ Justin Ramsden \ Milan Reindl \ Markus Rollbühler \ Henrik Rubin Saaby \ Stuart Sayger \ Hans Burkhard Schlömer \ Jordan David Scott \ Hans Henrik Sidenius \ Torben Skov \ Niek van Slagmaat \ Isaac Snyder \ Mark Stafford \ Dimitrios Stamatis \ Corvin Stichert \ Marin Stipkovic \ Chris Stamp \ Wes Talbott \ Adam Reed Tucker \ Atticus Tsai-McCarthy \ Nick Vas \ Ashwin Visser \ Christian Vonsild \ Jme Wheeler \ Ryan Baird-Van Woerkom \ Jason Zapantis | |||
| Certified Professionals | Nicholas Foo \ Rene Hoffmeister \ Sean Kenney \ Ryan McNaught \ Matija Puzar \ Robin Sather \ Nathan Sawaya \ Adam Reed Tucker \ Beth Weis | |||
| Media | James May \ Chris Pratt \ Cryoshell \ Michael Peña | |||
| Other | Gerhardt Kirk Christiansen \ Godtfred Kirk Christiansen \ Gunhild Kirk Johansen \ Hanne Christiansen \ Helge Torpe \ Hilary Fisher Page \ Jesse Shwayder \ Karl Georg Kirk Christiansen \ King David Shwayder \ Mogans Johansen \ Ole Kirk Christiansen \ Sten Daugaard \ Mads Nipper | |||