Topic: Milton Bradley

Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) an American game pioneer, was credited by many with launching the board game industry in North America with Milton Bradley Company.

A native of Vienna, Maine, in his late teens Bradley chose to pursue the printing trade, including lithography. He set up the first color lithography shop in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, established in Springfield in 1860. Eventually, Bradley moved forward with an idea he had for a board game which he called The Checkered Game of Life, an early version of what would later become The Game of Life.

He also invented the paper cutter. In 2004, he was posthumously inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame along with George Ditomassi of Milton Bradley Co. Through the 20th century, the company he founded dominated the production of American games, with titles like Candyland, Operation, and Battleship. The company is now a subsidiary of Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Hasbro.