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 changed the name of the company «Lego,» which is a contraction of the word leg godt (which refers to «play well» in Danish).
In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks in its production. The first Lego sets were also marketed. The company also started an entirely new division, Dakta which would focus on education-related products.
In the latter half of the 20th century Lego continued to expand its product line and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces and, in 1974, the first Lego human figures. Later, these minifigures developed into the model we have today. Lego began to develop more sophisticated Lego Technic sets for older children.
Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987 to allow kids to take part. The event was held in Billund where 38 children from 17 different countries participated. That same year Lego also began to create themed sets that were viewed as systems within a system, such as Lego Space, Lego Castle, Lego Town (later renamed Lego City), and Lego FabuLand. In 1988, Lego released a new line of pirate Legos that featured facial features of various types and expressions.
In 1999, Lego shifted the way it licensed its characters from franchises. It began to offer Lego versions of famous characters such as Spider-Man, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and many more. The public and the critics had different reactions to this decision.