William F. Mangels

He worked at Coney Island and was a major player in the development of American amusement parks at the start of the 20th century.

In addition to manufacturing carousels and inventing rides, including The Whip, he wrote a book titled The Outdoor Amusement Industry: From Earliest Times to the Present (ISBN 0848820029).

Mangels Company, which would become one of the biggest amusement park ride manufacturers.

Mangels would enter a business relationship with M. C. Illions, the wood carver for many of his carousels.

His 1901 patent that focuses on the cranks used to make carousel horses go up and down is still used today.