What year was monopoly first sold?

Answer 1

The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1904 , when a Quaker woman named Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips created a game through which she hoped to be able to explain the single tax theory of Henry George (it was intended to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies). Her game, The Landlord's Game, was commercially published in 1924.In 1941, the British Secret Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game outside the U.S., create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis. Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by secret service-created fake charity groups.By the 1970s, the game's early history had been lost, and the idea that it had been created solely by Charles Darrow had become popular folklore. This was stated in the 1974 book The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World's Most Popular Game, by Maxine Brady, and in the instructions of the game itself.

Because of the lengthy court process and appeals, the legal status of Parker Brothers' trademarks on the game was not settled until the late 1970s. Ralph Anspach won a lawsuit over his game Anti-Monopoly on appeals in 1979, as the 9th District Court determined that the trademark Monopoly was generic, and therefore unenforceable.

Answer 2

That is a subject of much controversy, as there were several games with similar concept, board design and even the same name, long before Charles Darrow designed the version we know today. Monopoly is based on a board game called "The Landlord's Game", which was designed by Lizzie J Magie in 1903 and for which she received a patent in 1905. Over the next 20 years, various editions of her game would be called "Auction Monopoly" (1910) and "Monopoly", as its popularity spread. Magie approached Parker Brothers with the game, but was rejected.

Over the years, various people made their own versions of the game. Ruth Hoskins of Indianapolis played a version designed by Daniel Layman, moved to Atlantic City and made her own board design with Atlantic City street names. Charles Todd played the game, taught it to Esther Darrow, the wife of Charles Darrow. Charles Darrow drew up a new set of artwork and obtained a copyright on his design in 1933. He tried selling it to Parker Brothers in 1934, but was rejected, also.

However, the popularity had started to take off, such that Parker Brothers could no longer ignore it. Darrow sold the copyright to his version of the game to Parker Brothers in 1935. Parker Brothers then bought out the patent to Lizzie Magie's game design and also bought up the copyrights on several other people's versions, thus securing themselves a monopoly on "Monopoly".

Answer 3

December 4, 1935

Answer 4

1930, during the Great Depression.