Lionel electric trains

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Who

Joshua Lionel Cowen, an American Jewish inventor

When

1901

Where

New York, United States

Joshua Lionel Cowen built a battery-powered flatcar in 1901 as a moving shop-window display; customers wanted the train, not the goods on it. Lionel became the American model railway, and Cowen's earlier work on a battery-and-bulb tube led, in other hands, to the flashlight.

Sources

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.