The history of billiards.

Billiards began as a game played on grass, moved indoors onto royal tables, and became pool, snooker and carom. Its history is rich, and often disputed; where the sources disagree, we say so.

Even the beginning is uncertain. Billiards historian Norman Clare wrote that nobody knows how the game began and called the competing origin stories fairy tales, noting that the French credit the English and the English credit the French. What can be documented starts in fifteenth-century France and runs, through royal courts, British clubs and American poolrooms, to the televised world tours of today.

A short timeline

When	What
1400s	A croquet-like lawn game in northern Europe, probably France, moves indoors onto tables.
Late 1400s	Louis XI of France owns the first known indoor billiard table.
1600s to 1700s	Players start striking with the narrow end of the mace; the cue develops.
Early 1800s	The leather cue tip, credited to François Mingaud, appears (sources date it anywhere from 1807 to 1823).
1826 to 1845	Slate beds, then rubber and vulcanized rubber cushions; the table reaches its modern form by about 1850.
1869	John Wesley Hyatt patents an ivory substitute for billiard balls.
1870s to 1880s	Snooker emerges in British India; the traditional account credits army officers, but the details are disputed.
Around 1900 to 1920	Eight-ball, straight pool and nine-ball take shape in America.
1954	Willie Mosconi runs 526 balls in straight pool.
1961 and 1986	The Hustler and The Color of Money each spark a pool revival.
1987 to 1994	The WPA forms, the first world nine-ball championship is held, and the Mosconi Cup begins.

The pages below tell each part of the story in detail, with sources.

Sources

The history of billiards.

A short timeline

Origins

Equipment Evolution

American Pool

Snooker and Carom

Notable Players

Pop Culture

Modern Era