Alfred Carlton "A.C." Gilbert, the entrepreneur behind the Erector set, was a toy-industry titan, who was as shrewdly self-mythologizing as he was innovative. The first construction toy set was patented in England by Frank Hornby in 1901. These toys, named Meccano in 1907, consisted of half-inch-wide metal strips with holes at half-inch intervals. The strips could be connected with metal rods and wheels to build bridges, buildings, and...Continue Reading