Roald Dahl is one of the greatest children’s literature authors the world has ever seen.
In honor of what would be his 100th birthday today, we have compiled 10 things to remember the British writer by:
- The Wales native was named after a Norwegian polar explorer who had the same first name as him.
- 1920 was a rough year for him as his sister died from an infection. Several weeks later, his father died from pneumonia.
- He went to a British boarding school called Repton that he didn’t enjoy. However, tasting Cadbury products at the school inspired him to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Before his literary career, Dahl was a fighter pilot starting in 29139 for Great Britain during WWII. He experienced some success in the job, but his time at war led to a condition that gave him severe headaches, causing him to pass out. He was invalidated and taken home in the early 1940s.
- He invented more than 50 words, including argy, bibble, darksome, frumpet, glimp, gollup and lickswishy. Check out the definitions here.
- Patricia Neal and the author got married in 1953. They were together for 30 years and had five children. He married Felicity Ann d’Abreu Crosland in 1983, whom he was wed to until his death.
- Dahl’s first published book was The Gremlins, which is based on a belief that the creatures caused glitches on airplanes.
- He also wrote Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The BFG.
- The author wrote letters to his mother every week for 30 years, until her death.
- Dahl passed away in 1990 of a blood disease in Oxford.
He may no longer be with us but his legacy is as strong as ever.
