Walter Frederick Morrison

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Walter Fredrick "Fred" Morrison (born January 23, 1920 in Richfield , Utah , † February 9, 2010 in Monroe , Utah) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who was best known for his invention of the Frisbee .

Morrison was born in 1920 to Walter Florian Morrison (1896–1966) and Vera Leona (née Christiansen) (1896–1987). He claimed that the idea for the flying toy originally came to him in 1937 when he tossed the lid of a popcorn can with his girlfriend at the time and later wife Lu. The popcorn lid was soon dented and this led to the discovery that a baking tray flew better and was also more common. Morrison and Lu started a small business in Santa Monica , California selling Flyin 'Cake Pans.

On April 3, 1939, Morrison married in Los Angeles Lucile Eleanor Nay (1920-1987), called "Lu", with whom he had a son and two daughters. After divorcing in March 1969, the couple remarried on April 3, 1971. Lu died in 1987.

He learned a lot about aeronautics during World War II while flying his Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in Italy. He was shot down and was a prisoner of war for 48 days .

In 1946 he developed a construction (called the Whirlo-Way) for the world's first flying disc. In 1948, the investor paid Warren Franscioni to cast his construction in plastic . They called it the flyin saucer. In 1954, Morrison bought more of the original saucers to sell at local fairs. He found that he could make his own discs more cheaply. In 1955, he and Lu constructed the Pluto Platter, the archetype of all modern flying discs. On January 23, 1957, he sold the rights to the Pluto Platter to the toy company Wham-O . At first he marketed the toy as "Pluto Platter"; In 1958 he added the name Frisbee , a spelling of the Frisbie Pie Company's name .

There is a disc golf course in Holladay , which is named after him in his honor.

Morrison died in his home.

Publications

  • Flat Flip Flies Straight with Phil Kennedy, Wormhole Publishers, 2006

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lynn Arave: Frisbee creator Fred Morrison dies . In: Deseret News , February 10, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010. 
  2. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/technology-obituaries/7223147/Fred-Morrison.html
  3. ^ Frisbee inventor Walter Frederick Morrison dies aged 90 , BBC News . February 12, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010. 
  4. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/12/frisbee.morrison.obit/index.html?hpt=T2

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Morrison, Walter Frederick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morrison, Walter Fredrick; Morrison, Fred (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor of the Frisbee
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Richfield , Utah
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 2010
Place of death Monroe , Utah