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The LEGO® History |
In 1997, the LEGO Group consists of 50 companies in 29 countries all over the world.
We have more than 9,000 employees worldwide - nearly 50% in Denmark.
The LEGO story started in the 1930s. Below is a chronology giving some of the most important events in our history. |
Ole Kirk Christiansen, master carpenter and joiner in the village of Billund, Denmark, sets up business. His firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards - and wooden toys. His son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen starts working in the business from the age of 12. |
The company and its products now take on the name LEGO, which is formed from the Danish words 'LEg GOdt' ('play well').
Later, it is realised that in Latin the word means 'I study', 'I put together'.. The firm has a staff of 6-7 people. A few years later, Ole Kirk's motto hangs on the wall of the workshop: 'Only the best is good enough'.. | ||
The LEGO factory burns to the ground - but the production of wooden toys is quickly resumed.. |
The LEGO company is Denmark's first to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine for making toys. | ||
The company produces about 200 different plastic and wooden toys, including Automatic Binding Bricks, a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we know today. They are sold only in Denmark. | ||
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is appointed Junior Vice President. |
The bricks are now called 'LEGO Mursten' (LEGO Bricks') rather than 'Automatic Binding Bricks'.. | ||
The word LEGO is officially registered in Denmark on 1st May. | ||
After further developing the LEGO Bricks, the company launches the revolutionary 'LEGO System of Play': 28 sets and 8 vehicles. It also sells loose elements. | ||
The first foreign sales company is established in Hohenwestedt, Germany. | ||
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is appointed President. | ||
The current LEGO stud-and-tube coupling system is invented and patented. The new coupling principle makes models much more stable. The possible combinations of bricks run into astronomical figures. Sloping (roof tile) bricks are launched. Ole Kirk Christiansen dies and Godtfred Kirk Christiansen becomes head of the company. | ||
The product development department Futura - now has a 5-member staff. | ||
The wooden toy warehouse is destroyed by fire. It is decided to discontinue production of wooden toys and concentrate exclusively on plastics. |
The LEGO Group invents the wheel! And puts it on the market the following year. The total range comprises 50 sets, 15 vehicles and various loose elements. |
Cellulose acetate, hitherto the most important raw material in LEGO production, is replaced by ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). The new material results in bricks which are more stable and have better colour quality. | ||
Model sets complete with building instructions are launched as a natural supplement to existing Basic Sets and supplementary sets. | ||
The first LEGO train arrives. Complete with rails and much more. 4.5-volt motor is launched at the same time. The product range comprises 57 sets and 25 vehicles. A total of 706 million LEGO elements are produced during the year. | ||
The DUPLO® brick is invented and a patent is applied for. (The brand name is changed to LEGO DUPLO bricks in 1997). There are a total of 218 LEGO elements and between 18 and 19 million LEGO sets are sold during the year. |
LEGOLAND® Billund opens its gates on 7th June - attracting 625,000 visitors in its first season. | ||
Big bricks for tiny fingers are launched internationally: the DUPLO series, eight times bigger than basic LEGO bricks, twice as long, twice as wide, twice as high. The 12-volt motor joins the Train series. | ||
Brightly coloured cogwheels are launched in various sizes. Later, they are a major source of inspiration for the LEGO TECHNIC programme introduced in 1977. |
Doll's house units on the market - together with furniture components. | ||
The first floating LEGO ship is launched. The current LEGO logo is introduced. | ||
LEGO figures - representing a new concept, the LEGO family - enter the market. The set becomes the biggest selling product to date in our range, equally popular with boys and girls. | ||
'Expert Series' for building models such as veteran cars is launched. | ||
The Technic range is marketed - advanced, complex model sets for the older child to build. 'As technical as the real thing'. New DUPLO sets are launched in the same year. They have door and window elements and new 'symbol' figures without arms or legs. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen - the third generation - joins the LEGO Group's management. | ||
LEGOLAND mini figures with movable arms and legs come on the market - together with base plates with road markings, so that entire towns can be built. | ||
LEGOLAND Space is launched. It quickly becomes a global success. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of INTERLEGO A/S (renamed LEGO A/S in January 1987). |
New additions to the DUPLO programme: pull/rocking toys for toddlers. And the DUPLO rabbit logo is introduced. Educational Products Department - LEGO Dacta since 1989 - is established. | ||
DUPLO Mosaic and 'Technic I' are introduced as the first examples of special product development for the pre-school and schools market. | ||
Introduction of DUPLO Baby series, which includes six rattles. There are new, large figures in the bigger DUPLO sets, with movable arms and legs. | ||
A new LEGOLAND Castle series is introduced with knights, horses and many other new elements. | ||
The LEGO Prize - an international, annual award of DKK 750,000 (increased in 1989 to DKK 1,000,000) for exceptional efforts on behalf of children - is founded in April. LEGO TECHNIC Control (a school product) has its world premiere at the Didacta Fair in Stuttgart, Germany. | ||
Light & Sound sets are launched, bringing a new electronic touch to the LEGOLAND themes of Town and Space. The big news of the year in the Educational Products range is TECHNIC Computer Control: LEGO robots can now be controlled via a computer. Launched initially in Great Britain and Denmark, but only for schools - and for different types of computers. On 16th April (Birthday of H.M. Queen Margrethe of Denmark) the LEGO Group is granted the title 'Purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen'. | ||
Buckets containing DUPLO or LEGO Basic components can now be bought in the USA and some European countries. | ||
'Forest people' come to the market in the LEGOLAND Castle series - and the 'Black Star' control centre reports for action in LEGOLAND Space. The first official LEGO World Cup building championships are held Billund in August with 38 children participating from 14 different countries. |
The Pirate line is launched: 11 sets with plenty of opportunity for imaginative play with ships, forts, tough pirates, etc. At the beginning of the year, the old Educational Products Department changes its name to LEGO Dacta. The word 'dacta' derives from the Greek word 'didactic', meaning 'the study of the purpose, means and substance of learning and the learning process'. | ||
The LEGO Model Team series is launched. The models - which include a truck, a
jeep and a transport helicopter - are designed to have a special appeal to
children, who want toys which are close to reality. The latest DUPLO product is a zoo with giraffes, crocodiles, bears and other animals. | ||
In the LEGO TECHNIC product programme, the year's new product is the TECHNIC Control Centre. It is an electronic control unit with double memory and can be used to programme and control all motorised LEGO TECHNIC models. | ||
The LEGO Group is now announced as one of the world's 10 largest toy manufacturers - the only one in Europe (the others are American and Japanese). The magic barrier - one million visitors in a single year - is broken for the first time by LEGOLAND Billund on 4th September. | ||
There are now big elements with human and animal heads in some of the DUPLO sets. There are five new Harbour sets, containing ships with many different functions. Three seaworthy vessels are also launched: a fire ship, a police boat and a yacht. The 4.5V and 12V train series are replaced by a 9V system with a control panel which makes the trains go backwards as well as forwards. |
Young craftsmen between three and six years of age can now try out their skills with the Toolo line, which has been added to the DUPLO product programme. Models drawn from everyday life, such as cars and cranes, can be built with the help of a Toolo screwdriver. | ||
The most noteworthy new product in LEGO Town is the Paradisa theme, designed to appeal to girls aged six or seven. The theme centres on a subtropical island and pastel colours. | ||
The new LEGO SYSTEM logo is introduced as a result of a design project lasting several years. A Guinness record in railway line construction is set - 545 metres of LEGO rails with three model locomotives. The world's largest LEGO Castle is built on Swedish television. Over 400,000 LEGO bricks are transformed into a castle 4.45 m x 5.22 m - measured for the Guinness Book of Records. The Second LEGO World Cup Final is held in Billund in August with 32 children participating from 11 countries. |
The new DUPLO Train range is the big product news of the year. There are both push trains and a train powered by three 1.5V batteries. The LEGO SYSTEM Basic series now includes a 'Brickvac'. A 'vacuum cleaner' that looks like a parrot. It is used to pick up elements after a play session. In the LEGO Castle, the Dragon Knight's Castle gets a dragon's cave, complete with fire breathing dragon and a wizard. For LEGO TECHNIC enthusiasts, there is now a Universal set which includes elements for a vehicle chassis and which can be controlled via the new Control Centre and a micromotor. | ||
The big new DUPLO product this year is the playhouse in lovely new pastel
colours - pink and peppermint green. The Belville line is launched in the LEGO SYSTEM product programme. A new and different concept designed for girls from 5 years and upwards. "Islanders" with masks and colourful body paint are added to the Pirates line. Experienced LEGO TECHNIC builders can now enjoy constructing the Super Car, which has more than 1,300 elements. In beautiful spring weather on 6th April, a ceremony at Windsor, west of London, marks the construction start for the new LEGO Family Park. | ||
DUPLO PRIMO (DUPLO BABY in North America) is launched. This eye-catching addition to the DUPLO range is specially designed for girls and boys between six months and two years of age. FreeStyle, a relaunch of the LEGO Basic programme, joins the LEGO SYSTEM product range. LEGO SYSTEM Aquazone, an exciting underwater world, complete with crystal formations and octopuses, is introduced for slightly older children. The biggest news of the year in the LEGO TECHNIC programme is LEGO TECHNIC Control II with models operated by computerized control unit. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, son of the company's founder, dies on 13th July. | ||
The overall LEGO production area - in Denmark, Switzerland, the USA, Brazil and Korea - is now close to 360,000 m2. There are now 278,000 m2 of factory and office space in Billund, Denmark alone. The LEGO Group enters the Internet LEGOLAND Windsor, the first LEGO family park outside Denmark, opens on March 29. It covers an area of 120,000 m2. In March, a new development department is established: SPU Darwin. Its work includes the development of software based on and related to LEGO products. LEGOLAND Billund welcomes its 25,000,000th visitor since its opening in 1968 on April 18. The new LEGO Truck Show takes to the road. It is an inspiring, exciting and innovative exhibition, displayed in a trailer pulled by a specially developed giant Volvo prime mover. The trailer's floor area is approx. 50 m2, of which the display stands occupy some 20 m2.
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© 1996, 1997 The LEGO Group |
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