Hans Wegner was born in Denmark on April 2, 1914. Best known as a Danish furniture designer, Wegner drove the "Organic Functionality" style, a modernist approach that focuses on functionality and the human form. His works commonly are viewed as one of the key reasons that mid-century Danish designs became popular furniture choices worldwide in the mid-to-late 20th century.

Many of Wegner's works were influenced by contributors from Scandinavian countries. And during his lifetime, Wegner created more than 500 different chairs, hundreds of which were put into mass production.

Wegner worked with Arne Jacobsen, a Danish architect and designer, during much of his life. He and Jacobsen together designed the furniture in the Aarhus City Hall (a building designed by Jacobsen).

Eventually, Wegner started his own company, and along with fellow architect Brge Mogensenhe, designed furniture for FDB (a Danish chain of grocery stores). Wegner designed many wooden chairs using conventional joinery techniques including finger joints and sculpted elements such as armrests and seat supports. He also used traditional construction for upholstered pieces and usually mixed materials such as solid wood, plywood, metal, upholstery, caning and papercord.

Wegner retired from public life only in the last decade of his life. He passed away on Jan. 26, 2007, but his functional designs continue to impact furniture manufacturers across the globe.