Monopoly Board Game

Charles Darrow, USA, patent 2,026,082 of 1935. A Depression hit built on an older game.

Overview

Charles Darrow sold Monopoly to Parker Brothers in 1935 and received a patent at the end of that year, presenting himself as its inventor. In fact the game descended from The Landlord's Game, patented by Lizzie Magie in 1904 to illustrate the economic ideas of Henry George, and from folk versions played in Atlantic City, whose streets Darrow's board used. Parker Brothers quietly bought out Magie's patent. Monopoly became one of the best-selling board games in history, and Magie's role was rediscovered decades later.