1500
King Henry VIII requires his archers to practice their archery skills year around. During the winter months, the archers moved inside the barns, and their arrows shortened.
1539
Anne Boelyn gave her soon to be husband King Henry VIII a richly ornate set of darts for his birthday.
1620
Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower played darts to occupy their time.
1898
Paper dart flights were invented.
1906
An Englishman patented the first metal barrels.
1908
Foot Anakin challenged the English court system, making darts a “game of skill” rather than a “game of chance”.
1924
The National Darts Association (NDA) was founded. The NDA standardized the board as we know it today.
1927 – 1928
The NDA ran the world’s first darts tournament called “News of the World Individual Darts Championship”.
1937
Queen Elizabeth played darts in the social center at Buckingham Shire.
1938 – 1939
News of the World Darts Tournament was in excess of 280,000 participants.
1962
The Westward TV Invitational was the first televised broadcast of darts.
1973
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was founded.
1973
The Sacramento Valley Darting Association (SVDA) was founded.
1976
15 nations joined forces to create The World Federation.
1976
The American Darts Organization started in with 30 clubs and 7,500 members.
1992
16 professional players from the BDO joined together and founded the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).