Milton Bradley started his life on November 8, 1836, in Vienna, ME. The only child of Lewis and Fannie Bradley. He had a good start in life, his parents were affectionate and encouraged him to learn through playing.
His father endured setbacks in employment, so they had to move frequently, moving together in a wandering path around New England, settling eventually in Haverhill Massachusetts. Here Milton Bradley finished high school, having gained an interest in art and draftsmanship.
From there, he worked as a patent agent, and a stationery salesman. He helped design railroad cars, and opened a lithograph business. He followed an erratic path toward his calling: founding the most storied name in board game history: The Milton Bradley company.
It’s quite a story, Milton’s journey through life (very fitting because his first claim to board game fame was “The Checkered Game of Life.”).
This guide is dedicated to the life of game inventor Milton Bradley.
Milton Bradley was born on November 8, 1836 in Vienna, Maine, the only child of Lewis and Fannie Milton. His parents didn’t go to theaters or sporting events, and disapproved of gambling. But they enjoyed playing checkers and chess and other board games. His father illustrated mathematical concepts to Milton using apples and other objects. Learning through play helped Milton learn quickly and successfully.
Lewis was a carpenter and factory worker. He ran a successful starch mill that extracted starch from potatoes to be used as a food thickener and in paper. The potato blight of 1844 caused the mill to close, and the Bradleys had to move several times.
Despite changing schools several times, Milton showed an aptitude for learning science and math. He also developed a talent for drawing and draftsmanship. He went to study technical drawing at the Lawrence Scientific School at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He worked his way through college with various jobs. He gave drawing lessons. He sold stationery and writing supplies, which were much in demand by college students writing to family back home. He learned to drop by to sell stationery on payday, when people had the most money.
He also worked as a draftsman for Oliver Cushing, a patent lawyer. Many years before he got patents of his own, his name appeared as a witness on patent documents, the earliest being on Patent #12,063 in 1854. entitled "Spinning Flyer" an attachment for a spinning wheel, invented by Edward C. Johnson of Lowell, Massachusetts.
However, before he could begin his last year of study, his parents had to move to find work, and couldn’t afford to pay his tuition. This was the end of Milton’s formal schooling, and he had to find a full-time job. He headed to Springfield, Massachusetts.
In Springfield, Milton got a job as a draftsman at Wason Manufacturing, a company that built railroad cars. His first ride on a train had actually been the one that had brought him to Springfield shortly before entering the shop. The Wason went out of business two years later, along with thousands of other businesses nationwide, during a financial panic.
Unemployed again, Milton went into business as a patent agent, helping others patent their inventions. One was Patent #24,182 “Machine for Channeling or Edging Soles of Boots or Shoes” for Martin Wesson of Springfield.
Then, in a strange turn of events, Wason Manufacturing went back into business. They had received an order to build luxury railroad cars for Pasha Mohamed Sa'id of Egypt. The pay was for the project was excellent, which finally gave Milton the money he needed to marry his fiancé, Vilona Eaton. The wedding was on November 8, 1860. Milton helped design the luxury car, and even helped supervise its construction.
When the project was completed, Wason Manufacturing gave Milton a lithograph of the train car he had helped design and build. Milton had never seen a lithograph before and was fascinated. His interest in lithographs lead to another change of career.
