Ole's shop burns down when a fire ignites some wood shavings. Ole then builds a larger workshop, renting out most of the space, and using the rest for his own shop.
1930s
1932:
Ole Kirk Christiansen's shop nearly goes bankrupt in the Great Depression. With a lack of normal carpentry jobs, Ole Kirk starts producing toys, many of which were wooden pull toys.
Wooden Lego yoyo's became an instant hit.
1934:
The company name Lego is coined by Christiansen from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning "play well".
A fire breaks out in the factory, forcing the company to rebuild.
1943:
The company grows to 40 employees.
1945:
The Lego wooden Peace Pistol with red wooden projectiles became a huge success.
1947:
Ole purchases the first plastic moulding machine in Denmark, and the company begins manufacturing plastic toys. The Christiansens are inspired by samples of the "Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Brick", a design patented by the Briton Hilary Fisher Page.[1]
Lego introduces the minifigure with movable limbs and hands that can grasp utensils. This was the company's second most important design, after the brick itself.
Lego company grows to 5,000 employees worldwide; 3,000 of them being in Billund.
The gearstick is introduced.
Danish Foreign Minister, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, opens the Lego Centre at Birkenhead Point in Sydney Australia, the first permanent Lego shop outside Billund[4]
1986:
Lego Technic robots controlled by computers are placed in schools.
Light and Sound sets are launched of Lego Town and Space themes; these were the first products of the new-generation 9V "Electric System".
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