when was rudolph created

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by the advertising department of the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago. The department store was looking for a way to boost Christmas sales, and they hired Robert May, a copywriter, to come up with a story that would capture the imagination of children and their parents. May wrote a story about a reindeer with a red nose who was laughed at and ridiculed by the other reindeer, but who ultimately saved Christmas by guiding Santa's sleigh on a foggy night. The story was published in a children's magazine, and Rudolph's popularity