The Creator of the famous Lego human figure Jens Nygaard Knudsen has died at the age of 78 in Denmark, reports Agence France-Presse regarding Knudsen’s former colleague Nils Milan Pedersen.

Jens Nygaard Knudsen has been a designer for more than 30 years at the Danish Lego Group, which produces educational toys and constructors. He was one of the creators of the popular mini-figure of a man with movable arms and legs, which appeared in the late 1970s.

According to the Agency, Knudsen died on Wednesday in a hospice in Western Denmark. The cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — an incurable disease of the nervous system that leads to paralysis of the limbs and muscle atrophy.

“His imagination was fantastic. If we had a brainstorm, it was more like a brain hurricane, he had so many ideas,” the Agency quoted Pedersen as saying.