Short answers, pulled from the story.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson created Dungeons and Dragons in 1974. Gygax was a retired insurance salesman and wargaming enthusiast who brought mechanical complexity, while Arneson was a naval officer who contributed role-playing concepts.
Wizards of the Coast acquired the rights to Dungeons and Dragons in 1997. This purchase was driven by the financial struggles of TSR and marked the end of the independent era for the game.
The book 30 Years of Adventure was published in 2004 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons. It included essays from celebrities such as Stephen Colbert, Wil Wheaton, and Genndy Tartakovsky.
The Forgotten Realms became the most popular setting for Dungeons and Dragons. It was developed by Ed Greenwood and offered a detailed and politically complex world that eventually surpassed other settings.
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman wrote the Dragonlance novels that merged literature with gameplay. These books introduced a narrative-driven approach to the game during the late 1970s and early 1980s.