The Lego company was founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund, Denmark. His company was a struggle through the Great Depression, and he began making wooden toys. Christiansen changed the name of his company “Lego,” a contraction of the Danish words leg godt, meaning “play well.”
In 1934, Lego began using plastic bricks in its production. The first Lego sets were also marketed. The company also established an entirely new division named Dakta that would focus on educational products.
Through the latter part of the 20th century Lego continued to expand its product line and marketing efforts. In 1971, Lego introduced dollhouses, furniture pieces, and in 1974 first Lego human figures. They evolved into the minifigure design that is still used to this day. Lego also began to create more sophisticated building sets targeted towards older children. These would later grow into Lego Technic.
Lego introduced the World Cup Lego Building Contest in 1987 to allow children to take part. The event was held in Billund and 38 kids from 17 different countries competed. The same year, Lego also began to design dedicated theme sets that were thought of as systems within an overall 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 offering Lego versions of the most popular characters such as Spider-Man and Star Wars. Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more. This move was met with mixed responses from fans and critics alike.
https://lego-x.com/2019/10/03/lego-and-a-leading-position-of-vdr/