Here’s a timeline of key events in American Girl history:
1985: Pleasant Rowland starts Pleasant Company in a converted Madison warehouse, with a plan to make dolls and related books placing girls in American history.
September 1986: The first three American Girl dolls – Samantha (1904), Kirsten (1854) and Molly (1944) – and their related books are released. They are sold only by mail order.
1989: Having outgrown its Madison building, the American Girl company moves to Middleton.
Fall 1991: American Girl releases its fourth historical doll, Felicity (1774).
1992: American Girl Magazine begins. (It ended in January 2019.)
1993: Addy (1864), American Girl’s first Black historical doll and fifth to date, is released.
Fall 1997: Josefina (1824), American Girl’s first Latina doll and sixth to date, is released.
1998: Pleasant Rowland sells American Girl to toy giant Mattel for $700 million.
Nov. 19, 1998: The first American Girl Place retail store and event location opens in Chicago.
2000: Kit Kittredge (1934), the seventh historical doll, is released.
2001: American Girl releases its first Girl of the Year doll, Lindsey Bergman. These limited-edition dolls feature contemporary characters.
2002: Kaya’aton’my (1764), also known as Kaya, is released. Representing Nimíipuu, or the Nez Perce Indigenous people, she is the eighth historical doll.
2026: For its 40th anniversary, American Girl rereleases the eight original historical dolls.
2026: Mattel announces “Samantha: The Next Chapter” by Fiona Davis, the first American Girl novel for adults. It follows the adventure of 25-year-old Samantha in New York City in 1920.
Sources: “History of American Girl,” americangirl.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_American_Girl; “The Making of American Girl” (American Girl Publishing/Mattel Press, 2026)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: A timeline of key events in American Girl history
Reporting by Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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