Joshua Lionel Cowen

Cohen had built his first toy train at age seven, attaching a small steam engine to a wooden locomotive he had carved.The same year, he was awarded a defense contract from the United States Navy to produce mine fuses, earning $12,000.[2] After expanding the production of toy trains and building his business, in 1910 Cohen legally changed his surname to "Cowen", for reasons unknown.[1] There had been waves of Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe to the United States, and many others also adopted anglicized names.[4][2] His body was returned to New York, where he is interred at Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.
QueensNew York CityPalm BeachFloridaLionel CorporationRoy Cohnmodel railroadstoy trainsJewishColumbia UniversityCity College of New YorkUnited States NavyThe RecordHackensack, New JerseyAmerican FlyerLouis Marx and CompanyPalm Beach, FloridaUnion Field CemeteryRidgewood, QueensNewspapers.com