Be the first to attend this event.
On this day in 1959, the first Barbie doll goes on display atthe American Toy Fair in New York City.
Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman behind Barbie was Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with her husband in 1945. After seeing her young daughter ignore her baby dolls to play make-believe with paper dolls of adult women, Handler realized there was an important niche in the marketfor a toy that allowed little girls to imagine the future.
New York City, NY, United States