The Lego company was established by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark. The company struggled during the Great Depression, and he began to create wooden toys. Christiansen changed the name of his company to “Lego,” a contraction of the Danish words leg godt, which means “play well.”

In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks for its production. The first Lego sets were also marketed. The company also started an entirely new division, Dakta which would concentrate on education products.

Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, Lego continued to expand its product line and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces, and in 1974 first Lego human figures. They later evolved into the minifigure style that is in use to this day. Lego began to make more sophisticated Lego Technic sets for older children.

In 1987, Lego introduced the World Cup Lego building competition for children to compete in. The event was held in Billund and 38 children from 17 countries participated. Lego started creating themed sets https://lego-x.com/2020/02/22/a-brief-history-of-the-creation-of-the-lego-constructor in the same year. These sets were seen as systems inside the system. These 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 that featured a variety facial features and expressions.

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. Fans and critics reacted differently to this change.