Reversi before Othello
Games in which you flip discs by trapping them existed before modern Othello. John W. Mollett's "The Game of Annexation" appeared in 1870, and in the 1880s Reversi by Mollett and Lewis Waterman developed in England.
Early Reversi and today's Othello look alike, but they differed in points such as the starting position and the pass rule. So the history and rules of the two games are not treated as exactly the same.
Goro Hasegawa and modern Othello
According to the recollections of Goro Hasegawa (長谷川五郎), he came up with the prototype of Othello as a student in Mito, Japan, in September 1945. In the 1960s he made discs from milk bottle caps, showed the game to family and friends, and refined the rules and equipment.
1973: launch and spread
Today's Othello began to spread widely after the Japanese toy company Tsukuda Original released it as a product in April 1973. That year marks the product launch and its spread, and is separate from when the prototype described above was conceived.
The name comes from "Othello"
The name was given by Goro's father, the English literature scholar Shiro Hasegawa (長谷川四郎). It comes from Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello", likening Othello and Desdemona in the play to the black and white discs.
Spreading worldwide
The first World Othello Championship (WOC) was held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1977, and the first world champion was Hiroshi Inoue of Japan. Tournaments and associations then spread to many countries. You can find the records of past championships in Othelloclub's WOC history.