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HANDLER Ruth
HANDLER Ruth
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HANDLER Ruth

HANDLER
Ruth

American businesswoman and inventor

Mattel
  • Date of Birth: 4 November 1916
  • Age at the time of death: 85 years old
  • Date death 27 April 2002
  • In the rating: #43 Businessman

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Biography

Ruth Marianna Handler was an American businesswoman and inventor. She is best known for inventing the Barbie doll in 1959, and being the first president of toy manufacturer Mattel from 1945 until 1975. Handler co-founded the company with her husband Elliot Handler. The Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel in 1975 after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the company for falsifying financial documents.

Formation of Mattel

Elliot tried his hand at a hobby of furniture making. He decided to make their furniture out of two new types of plastics, Lucite and Plexiglas. Ruth Handler suggested that he start doing this commercially and they began a furniture business. Ruth Handler worked as the sales force for the new business, landing contracts with Douglas Aircraft Company and others.

Origin

Ruth saw the potential for an entrepreneurial endeavor. They went into partnership with Harold "Matt" Matson. They combined Matson's last name with Elliot's first name creating Mattel. According to Elliot, the founders could not fit Ruth's name into the name of the company. During World War II, furniture sales fell so Mattel began to manufacture toy furniture. The success of this business caused Ruth and Elliott to move Mattel fully into toy manufacturing.

Barbie

Two stories are often cited as Handler's inspiration for the Barbie doll. The first details a trip to Europe with her husband and children, during which she saw a doll that looked like a woman (which was vastly different from the typical baby dolls that many girls owned at the time). The other discusses a singular moment, in which Ruth witnessed her daughter Barbara playing with paper dolls in their home. Afterwards, Handler wanted to create a more realistic, 3D toy that represented what these girls "wanted to be". While the timeline of/truth behind these stories has never been fully confirmed, Ruth pushed Mattel for the release of what was to be known as the Barbie doll (named after her daughter Barbara).

Premiering at the American Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959, Barbie was an instant success. Girls clamored for the doll, and Mattel sold 351,000 dolls within their first year. Ruth even negotiated a deal for the dolls to be advertised as the sole sponsors of the Mickey Mouse Club, and Barbie was the first toy to successfully be advertised directly to children.

Soon after, they would add a boyfriend for Barbie named Ken, after the Handlers' son, and many other characters that would fill Barbie's imaginary world. Over the years, Mattel has produced a series of personas for Barbie; from astronaut to businesswoman to UNICEF volunteer and beyond.

Barbie has faced its fair share of controversy over the years, having to do with everything from the doll's “questionable intelligence” and hourglass physique to the introduction of the Ken doll in the 1960s as her "handsome steady.”

Annual sales of Barbie have rarely faded. Mattel has sold over 1 billion dolls.

Barbie has become a corporation, spanning a series of movies, TV shows, video games, celebrity collaborations, and essentially finding success in almost any form of media.

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Astrological profile CALCULATE

Date of Birth 4 November 1916
Age at the time of death 85 years old
Scorpio Zodiac sign Scorpio Scorpios are strong and passionate Scorpio is a strong sign, but at the same time passive. Communicating with one of his representatives, you will certainly notice this. Scorpio will never betray his indignation, will not pounce on you with fists, b…
Dragon Chinese horoscope Dragon Dragon - energy and activity People born in the years of the Dragon have excellent health and a large supply of vitality. They are energetic and active, emotional and decisive, headstrong and wayward. The dragon is a strong-willed, noble and generou…
Pike Slavic horoscope Pike Born under the Pike sign of the Slavic horoscope, people often combine mythic memory with practical steadiness — reading cycles early and standing firm for those they call their own.
Sekhmet Egyptian horoscope Sekhmet The Egyptian sign of Sekhmet reflects divine patronage and a particular season of character in the ancient calendar. People born under this deity often feel motives early and carry a recognizable moral gravity.
Reed Druid horoscope Reed Reed is the seeker of truth. Born 28 October to 24 November, Reed people ask hard questions, name essence and refuse pretty lies.
Tula Indian horoscope Tula Born under Tula, people in the Indian horoscope often blend spiritual depth with practical discipline, reading life as a sequence of karmic lessons and duties.
Orchid Flower horoscope Orchid The flower talisman Orchid reflects character through nature’s calendar — sensitivity, aesthetic sense, and seasonal rhythm shape daily choices.
Scorpio — 2nd decan Decan horoscope Scorpio — 2nd decan The Scorpio — 2nd decan decan refines your zodiac sign with a sub-ruler accent — temperament, decision style, and inner strengths differ even within the same sun sign.

This day is celebrated: Day of Community Service

Horoscope Scorpio: horoscope for today, horoscope for tomorrow, horoscope for week, horoscope for month, horoscope for year, 天蝎座 星座运势, tử vi thiên yết, ดูดวง พิจิก

Days left until next birthday: 58 Days.

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About company

Mattel

Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing company founded in 1945 with headquarters in El Segundo, California. The products and brands it produces include Fisher-Price, Barbie, Monst...

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