Denys Fisher

Denys Fisher (11 May 1918 – 17 September 2002) was an English engineer who invented the spirograph and Stickle Bricks toys and created the company Denys Fisher Toys.

Personal life and education

Fisher's early years were spent living in a railway carriage in a field. During an illness he read Lamb’s Infinitesimal Calculus which sparked a lifelong fascination with logic and maths. He attended Roundhay School and then Leeds University, but dropped out of college to join the family firm, Kingfisher (Lubrication) Ltd. Fisher married Elizabeth Stephenson in 1940. They had a daughter and two sons. He subsequently married Kate Wade in 1969. They had two sons. He lived in Dumfries before moving to Clappersgate, Cumbria, in the 1980s.

Denys Fisher Engineering In 1960 he left the firm to set up his own company, Denys Fisher Engineering, in Leeds. In 1961 the company won a contract with NATO to supply springs and precision components for its 20 mm cannon. NATO awarded the company a £50,000 contract for five million units.

Stickle Bricks

In 1969, Fisher invented and marketed Stickle Bricks.

Other projects Denys Fisher Toys, which also produced other toys and board games, was sold to Palitoy in 1970 and it was subsequently bought by Hasbro. Through the 1980s and 1990s Fisher continued to work with Hasbro in developing new toys and refining Spirograph. Sound A Round Talking Story Game (1969)

Six Million Dollar Man Six Million Dollar Man – Bionic Bust-out Kit Six Million Dollar Man – Oscar Goldman Six Million Dollar Man – Maskatron Spirograph (1965) Super Spirograph (1971) Spiroscope (1972) Spirofoil Stickle bricks Doctor Who – Tom Baker Doll (1976 [all Doctor Who dolls were made by the Mego Corporation under license]) Doctor Who – Tardis (1976) Doctor Who – Leela (1976) Doctor Who – Giant Robot Roger De Courcey's Nookie Bear – Ventriloquist Bear (1976) Skull Machine Outrider Stretch Armstrong (licensed from Kenner)