" ... In 1899, a man named Joshua Cohen invented a product for photographers called the Electric Flash Lamp ... to ignite flammable magnesium powder used as flash for lighting photographs. ... A year later, Cohen, who later spelled his name Cowen, used the profits from his invention to start another company, one that made toy trains. He named that company using his middle name: Lionel. Lionel Corporation went on to dominate the market for electric trains, becoming the largest toy manufacturer in the world in 1953. ... " [More]