Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter from Billund in Denmark. His company was a struggle through the Great Depression, and he began making wooden toys. Christiansen changed the name of the company to «Lego,» which is a contraction of leg godt (which is «play well» in Danish).
In 1934, Lego adopted plastic bricks for production, and the first sets were released for sale. The company also started a new division called Dakta which would concentrate on educational products.
In the second half of the 20th Century, Lego expanded its product range and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces, and in 1974 first Lego human figures. They later evolved into the minifigure model that is in use today. Lego began to create more advanced Lego Technic sets for older children.
In 1987, Lego introduced the World Cup Lego building competition for children to compete in. The event took place in Billund where 38 children from 17 countries took part. Lego began to create themes sets the same year, and were viewed as systems within the system. They included Lego Space, Lego Castle and Lego Town (later renamed Lego City) as well as Lego FabuLand. In 1988, Lego released a new line of pirate Legos with various facial features and expressions.
In 1999, Lego shifted the way it licensed its characters from franchises. It began to offer Lego versions of the most popular characters such as Spider-Man and Star Wars. Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender hop over to this web-site and many more. This move was met with mixed reaction from fans and critics alike.