Concept    From 1934 

Monopoly

Categories: Sport / Games

Evolved from a number of property games but had reached its final form by 1934. Initially marketed with New York place names by Parker Brothers very successfully in America. Waddingtons were granted a licence to market it in the UK and the only change they made was to 'Londonise' the place names.

The early history of the game, in America, is detailed in a book, The Monopolists by Mary Pilon. In 1903 the board and the rules to the game were invented by Elizabeth Magie, a politically engaged woman who was concerned about exploitation by wealthy land-owners. She actually had two sets of rules for her Landlord's Game: one which rewarded those who created monopolies and another which rewarded those who created wealth. Either way the board was the same and very recognisable to Monopoly players today: if you ran out of money you were sent to the Poor House, in one corner, another corner had the Mother Earth square where you collected $100 wages for the work you had performed. She patented the game in 1903 and it gradually gained popularity.

In the 1930s Charles Darrow was introduced to the game by friends, made a copy of it, gained a patent for that in 1935 and sold the rights to a games manufacturer, Parker Brothers. When Magie, now Mrs Phillips, discovered what had happened she was angry but never managed to obtain satisfactory redress.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Monopoly

Commemorated ati

Co-op bank - Monoploy

Victor and Marjorie came to London from Leeds specifically to select names fo...

Read More

Other Subjects

Aston Martin

Aston Martin

Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford formed the company, initially as Bamford and Martin Ltd.   They used the garage at the site of the plaque as a workshop and here they developed their first model th...

Group, Sport / Games, Transport

1 memorial
Laurie Cunningham

Laurie Cunningham

Footballer. Born Laurence Paul Cunningham in Archway. One of the first black footballers to be selected for the England football team. In 1974 he made his debut for Leyton Orient moving to West Bro...

Person, Sport / Games, Spain

3 memorials
Jack (Kid) Berg

Jack (Kid) Berg

Boxer. Born Judah Bergman above a fish shop in Christian Street, according to St George's website. (Even if the fish shop was at the junction with Cable Street that would put the plaque on the wron...

Person, Sport / Games, USA

2 memorials
Walter Kent Williams

Walter Kent Williams

A player at the London Welsh Rugby Football Club who was killed in WW1.

Person, Sport / Games

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Ebenezer Cobb Morley

Ebenezer Cobb Morley

Born Hull and moved to Barnes in 1858.  Keen rower and footballer and for both sports he founded, played and officiated in clubs in the Barnes and Mortlake area. He proposed the founding of the Foo...

Person, Sport / Games

1 memorial