March 9th

On this day - March 9th 1959 - The first appearance of the Barbie doll

Barbie is an american doll first presented in 1959 who has since grown into becoming one of the worlds most popular toys. The German toy-doll Bild Lilli was the inspiration for the american doll and the name Barbie was created based on the name Barbara. The first Barbie was introduced as both a blondine and an brunette and it was first presented on the American International Toy Fair in New York. Barbie was one of the first toys to be promoted through Television and 350,000 dolls was sold the first year. It is estimated that over 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide since 1959.