Charles Darrow: The Invention Of Monopoly

The Invention of Monopoly

Introduction

Charles Darrow, the man credited for inventing Monopoly, was actually not the true inventor of the board game; The real inventor, was actually a lady named Lizzie Magie, who never received much credit for inventing it first. In the time period, women were thought to be stupid housewives and were incapable of anything. No one would have thought a woman could have invented something. The board game Monopoly has an interesting history, because the true inventor is actually Lizzie Magie, a woman, and because of the challenges the inventors had gone through, and because of the new changes to the board game.

The Beginning of Monopoly The board game Monopoly, is a game known for being invented during the Great Depression, but there is an untold story about how it was invented. The invention of Monopoly, is the story of an unemployed man, Charles Darrow, who

In 1893, Magie, a stenographer and typist, had invented the board game the Landlord 's Game. The Landlord 's game, is a square board with nine rectangular spaces on each side, set between corners labeled"Go to Jail" and "Public Park". Magie also performed in plays,and wrote poetry and stories (Pilon, n.d). The Landlord’s game even looks a lot like the game Monopoly, and is played with the same intention, on having the most money at the end. Magie later said to reporters in 1906, "In a short time, I hope a very short time, men and women will discover that they are poor because Carnegie and Rockefeller, maybe, have more than they know what to do with. In the game, there were two rules called, "monopolist" and "anti-monopolist" (Pilon, n.d.). Lizzie was a very kind woman, whose only intention, was to teach and help people out of debt. Since Lizzie made the Landlord’s game before Monopoly, she should have been credited, since both games are almost exactly