Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter who hails from Billund in Denmark. The company struggled through the Great Depression, and he began making wooden toys. Christiansen changed the name of his company to "Lego," a contraction of the Danish words leg godt which translates to "play well."
In 1934 Lego introduced plastic bricks as a means of production. the first sets were released for sale. The company also started 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 furniture and dollhouses, and in 1974 the first Lego human figures were introduced. Later, the minifigures evolved into the design we have today. Lego also began to develop more advanced sets for building geared to older children. This would later grow into Lego Technic.
Lego introduced the World a brief history of the creation of the lego constructor Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987 to allow children to take part. The event took place in Billund and 38 children from 17 countries participated. Lego began to develop themed sets in the same year. They were viewed as systems within an overall system. These included Lego Space, Lego Castle and Lego Town (later renamed Lego City) as well as Lego FabuLand. Lego also deviated from its standard smiley faces for the first time in 1988, with the release of a line featuring pirate Lego figures that had many different facial expressions and expressions.
In 1999, Lego changed the way it licensed characters from franchises. It began offering Lego versions of popular characters like Spider-Man and Star Wars. Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more. This move was met with mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.