Daily Quiz for April 21, 2009

Joshua Lionel Cowen (1877-1965) invented the flashlight in 1898 but soon sold the rights to Conrad Hubert. Cowen introduced his first electric train in 1901 and by the next year was concentrating on that product. He bought Ives and became the largest manufacturer of electric trains. Trains started falling out of favor in the mid-1950s, replaced by slot cars and space toys. Attempts to branch out were unsuccessful, and Cowen sold his shares to his nephew, Roy Cohn, and retired.