Milton Bradley Inc. is well known as the producer of such popular American games as Chutes and Ladders, Parcheesi, The Game of Life, and Yahtzee. The company was founded in 1860 by a lithographer named Milton Bradley who, during the Civil War, purchased a game called The Checkered Game of Life from an inventor. By 1868, Bradley had established himself as the leading manufacturer of games in the United States. In the 1950s the company was the first to market home versions of popular television game shows. The first of these was Concentration, followed by Password and Jeopardy. On the 100th anniversary of the company, the original game was reissued as The Game of Life. In 1984, Hasbro, the second leading toy producer after Mattel, purchased Milton Bradley.

Further Reading:

Shea, James J., Jr. It's All in the Game. New York, Putnam, 1960.

——. The Milton Bradley Story. New York, Newcomen Society, 1973.