The Lego company was established by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark. The company struggled through the Great Depression, and he began to create wooden toys. Christiansen changed the company’s name to “Lego,” which is a contraction of leg godt (which is “play well” in Danish).
In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks in its production. The first Lego sets were also promoted. The company also established a new division known as Dakta which would concentrate on educational products.
In the last quarter of the 20th century, Lego continued to expand its product line and marketing efforts. In 1971 Lego introduced furniture pieces and dollhouses and in 1974 the first Lego human figures were released. Later, the minifigures evolved into the style that we use today. Lego began to make more advanced Lego Technic sets for older children.
Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987 to allow youngsters to take part. The event was held in Billund, and 38 children from 17 different countries competed. Lego started creating theme sets in the same year, which were viewed as systems within an overall system. They included Lego Space, Lego Castle and Lego Town (later changed to Lego City) as well as Lego FabuLand. Lego also departed from its usual smiley faces for the first time in 1988 when it introduced a line of pirate Lego figures that had a variety of different expressions and facial features.
In 1999, Lego shifted the way it licensed its characters from franchises. It began offering Lego versions of characters such as Spider-Man and Star Wars. Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more. The move was met with mixed reactions from fans and critics alike.