Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was first created and published in 1939 as a character in a Christmas booklet for the Montgomery Ward department store.

Origin of Rudolph

  • Rudolph was created by copywriter Robert L. May for Montgomery Ward in Chicago as part of a promotional Christmas giveaway in 1939.
  • The character appeared in an illustrated booklet given to children visiting the store, long before the famous song or TV special.

From booklet to pop icon

  • May’s 1939 story about a misfit reindeer with a glowing red nose became hugely popular, with millions of copies of the booklet distributed.
  • Later, the story inspired the 1949 song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the 1964 stop-motion TV special, which cemented Rudolph as a modern Christmas icon.

TL;DR: If you’re asking “when was Rudolph made?” the character Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was “made” in 1939 for a Montgomery Ward Christmas booklet.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.