Hasbro, Inc., is an American toy company. It is one of the largest toymakers in the world. Hasbro was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1923 by the brothers Henry and Hillel Hassenfeld. The company was originally known as Hassenfeld Brothers (later shortened to Hasbro). It first sold textiles. Later, it sold school supplies. In the 1940’s, the company began selling its first toys—doctor’s and nurse’s kits. In 1952, the company made Mr. Potato Head Funny-Face Kits. The kits included plastic parts resembling facial features and other body parts that could be stuck into a potato. Mr. Potato Head was one of the first toys advertised on television.
The G.I. Joe action figure, introduced in 1964, became one of Hasbro’s best-known and most popular toys. The original G.I. Joe was an 11 1/2-inch (29-centimeter) plastic doll. At the time, dolls were almost exclusively considered to be girls’ toys. The company marketed G.I. Joe as an “action figure” to make it more appealing to boys. G.I. Joe was heavily advertised on television.
During the 1980’s, Hasbro introduced its popular Transformers, toy robots that change into vehicles or other things. It also introduced My Little Pony, a small vinyl pony with a long mane and tail that could be combed.
Hasbro acquired many of its best-selling toys when the company purchased other toymakers in the 1980’s and 1990’s. For example, Hasbro acquired such board games as Scrabble, Yahtzee, Monopoly, Risk, Sorry!, and Trivial Pursuit. It also acquired Tonka trucks, K’Nex building sets, Playskool educational toys, Pound Puppies plush toys, Play-Doh modeling compound sets, the Easy-Bake Oven, Star Wars action figures, and NERF foam products. The company branched out into electronic games with its purchase of Atari properties and Tiger Electronics in 1998.
Hasbro has also produced movies and television shows featuring the company’s toy lines. The company’s global headquarters are in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
