# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/merle-robbins
# Generated: 2026-08-13T15:17:45.056Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/merle-robbins"
name: "Merle Robbins"
slug: "merle-robbins"
description: "Merlin \"Merle\" Robbins was an American barber from Reading, Ohio, who invented the card game UNO. In 1971, he invented UNO to resolve an argument with his son Ray, a teacher, about the rules of Crazy Eights. The original decks were designed and made on the family dining room table. He and his family mortgaged their home to raise $8,000 and created the first 5,000 UNO decks to sell. At first, he sold them from his barber shop, while his son Ray gave them away to his students. In 1972, he sold the rights to UNO to International Games for $50,000 plus royalties of 10 cents per game."
tagline: "American inventor"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Scientists"
  slug: "scientists"
profileType:
  name: "Scientist"
  slug: "scientist"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "1911-09-12"
deathDate: "1984-01-14"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           48.11
  momentum:             0
  historical:           8.629885333333334
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     54.99999999999999
  profileCompleteness:  55
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A2%85%E7%88%BE%C2%B7%E7%BE%85%E8%B3%93%E6%96%AF_(%E7%90%86%E9%AB%AE%E5%B8%AB)"
    title: "梅爾·羅賓斯 (理髮師)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%8A_%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%B2"
    title: "مرلي روبنز"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%9B%E1%83%94%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9A_%E1%83%A0%E1%83%9D%E1%83%91%E1%83%98%E1%83%9C%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98"
    title: "მერლ რობინსი"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merle_Robbins"
    title: "Merle Robbins"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3039866"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump