Ole Kirk Christiansen established Lego in Billund, Denmark, in 1932.
Christiansen was a carpenter who initially made wooden household items and toys. The company adopted the name Lego in 1934, derived from the Danish phrase “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” The business did not begin with the familiar interlocking plastic bricks.
Lego began producing plastic toys after the Second World War and introduced its modern brick design in 1958. The key improvement was the tube-and-stud coupling system, which allowed bricks to connect securely while remaining easy to separate. That basic design became the foundation of the Lego system.
A common mistake is to treat 1958 as the company’s founding year. It was the year the modern brick design was patented, not the year Christiansen established the business. Another nearby fact is that the company’s headquarters and original factory town remain in Billund.