Jiro Aizawa, Dr. Robot, Dr. Aizawa Zirou, or 郎相澤

 

In 1910 when in 5th grade, Aizawa saw his first mechanical man in a London exhibition [the word robot was not coined until 1921]. Since 1925 he had made scores of entertaining robots, founded a "research institute" to produce and popularize them, and became something of a folk hero in his own right. In 1934, he unsuccessfully petitioned the government to recognize the word "robot" as his personal trademark.