LEGO introduced its modern interlocking plastic building brick in 1958.
The company began in Billund, Denmark, in 1932, when Ole Kirk Christiansen made wooden toys. Its name comes from the Danish phrase “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” LEGO began producing plastic toys in the late 1940s, adapting the basic brick design into the familiar stud-and-tube system.
The 1958 patent covered the interlocking principle that made the bricks stable while still allowing them to be taken apart. Earlier LEGO bricks existed, but the 1958 design is the foundation of the modern system. The patent’s practical importance was that the top studs and internal tubes gripped one another reliably.
LEGO bricks made since 1958 are generally compatible with newer pieces, which is a major reason the brand became a long-lasting toy system rather than a series of unrelated products. LEGO later expanded into themed sets, video games, films, and amusement parks, but the brick remains its defining product.