John William "Jack" Odell, OBE (March 19, 1920 – July 7, 2007) was the English inventor of Matchbox toys and the engineer responsible for their unique design. blank">Jack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead, New York Times, July 17 2007 He joined with partners _Leslie Smith and Rodney Smith to form Lesney Products. blank">Times Online "Jack Odell" obituary

The company initially made small products for cars such as dashboards and doorhandles. Odell designed a small steamroller in 1952 for his daughter to take to school. It proved to be a big hit for her for his daughter and her friends. The company started manufacturing small toys to meet the demand with a million copies of a small coach sold during the coronation of _Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The first car, an MG TD roadster, came out in 1954. blank">Jack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead, New York Times, July 17 2007

By 1966, more than 100 million Matchbox toys were sold each year. Odell retired in 1973 but returned in 1981 when Lesney had run into financial problems. Times Online "Jack Odell" obituary The company was declared insolvent in 1982 and sold to Universal Toys. Jack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead New York Times, July 17 2007

He founded Lledo, a small vehicle manufacturing company, and was active in that business until 1999 when he retired. Times Online "Jack Odell" obituary Odell had _Parkinson's disease when he died in July 2007. Jack Odell, 87, Designer of Matchbox Cars, Is Dead, New York Times, July 17 2007