
One of the world’s most popular board games, Monopoly, has a controversial and confusing history. While Charles Darrow receives most of the fame for developing the game, in fact many sources contributed to create Monopoly. The person who most deserved a better fate was Elizabeth Magie. Her game, “The Landlord’s Game,” is the earliest known version of the game that we now know as Monopoly. On this day in 1935, Parker Brothers acquired the patent from Magie for $500. Monopoly would go on to generate millions, and Magie’s contribution would be ignored for many decades. Only in recent years has the full story started to emerge.
For more on this fascinating story, check out the following links: