Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter who hails from Billund in Denmark. The company struggled during the Great Depression, and he began making wooden toys. Christiansen changed the name of the company to “Lego,” which is an abbreviation for leg godt (which is “play well” in Danish).
In 1934, Lego adopted plastic bricks for production, and the first sets were marketed. The company also created a new division known as Dakta which would concentrate on educational products.
In the second part 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. Later, these minifigures developed into the model that we use today. Lego began to produce more advanced Lego Technic sets for older children.
In 1987, Lego introduced the World Cup Lego building contest for kids to compete in. The event was held in Billund and 38 children from 17 countries took part. Lego began to develop themed sets in the same year. These sets were viewed as systems within a system. They included Lego Space, Lego Castle and Lego Town (later renamed Lego City) as well as Lego FabuLand. Lego also deviated from its usual smiley faces for the first time in 1988 when it introduced the introduction of a line of pirate Lego figures that featured many different facial expressions and expressions.
In 1999, Lego changed the way it licensed characters from franchises. It began to offer Lego versions of the most famous characters such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and many more. Fans and critics reacted differently to this new development.