Ole Kirk Christiansen is a carpenter whose home is Billund in Denmark. His company was a struggle through the Great Depression, and he began to create wooden toys. Christiansen renamed his company «Lego,» a contraction of the Danish words leg godt, meaning «play well.»
In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks for its production. The first Lego sets were also marketed. The company also launched Dakta, a new division Dakta which would focus on educational products.
Throughout the latter part of the 20th century Lego continued to expand its product line and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses and furniture pieces and in 1974, the first Lego human figures were introduced. Later, the minifigures evolved into the model we use today. Lego also began to create more advanced building sets that were geared to older children. This would later develop into Lego Technic.
Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987, inviting children to participate. The event was held in Billund where 38 children from 17 countries took part. The same year, Lego also began to develop dedicated theme sets that were seen as systems within a system, including Lego Space, Lego Castle, Lego Town (later renamed Lego City), and Lego FabuLand. Lego also departed from its standard smiley faces for the first time in 1988, with a line of pirate Lego figures that featured many different expressions and facial features.
In 1999, Lego changed the way it licensed characters from franchises. It began to offer Lego versions of the most famous characters like Spider-Man, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and many more. This was met with mixed responses from critics and fans alike.