History of the Dart Board Patent

Darts, like many other sports, has a disputed history and folk origin story. However, it is widely agreed that a form of the game originated in England around the 1300s and was a popular military pastime. The folktale described soldiers who, when bored between battles, would sit in the trenches and compete by throwing sharp objects at the bottoms of upturned wine casks. After a while, soldiers started using cross-sectioned trees. Tree trunk growth rings became a way for soldiers to prove their precision and ultimately inspired the modern board’s double and triple circles. 

Tree Trunk Rings

Darts spread rapidly through Britain, and soon King Henry VIII was playing along with most nobility. Darts continued to evolve over hundreds of years until the 1800s, when the game we know today took shape. Most believe that it wasn’t until 1896 that the number system was invented. A carpenter from Lancashire, England named Brian Gamlin is credited with the invention. 

King Henry VIII Darts

The game ran into its first controversy in 1908 when a pub owner in England was taken to court for allowing his customers to play darts in his bar. The authorities argued that darts was a game of chance, which was illegal at the time. The bar owner, “Bigfoot” Annakin was asked to throw and stick 3 darts in the 20 slot. He did so with ease and, when the court clerk only hit one, the case was dismissed. 

Annakin Court

Over the early 1900s, darts continued to spread throughout the world and saw a peak in popularity during World War II. Just before the start of WWII, Thomas Tempest of Philadelphia, PA was granted a patent for a dart board design. His design included a bullseye that could be removed from the board when it was worn out from use. This was Tempest’s first and only patent and expired in 1954.

Check out the patent

Dart Board Patent


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