LifeTimeline

Roald Dahl

    • SEP 13

      Born

    1916
    • The Great Mouse Plot of 1924

    1924
    • Joins the Royal Air Force

    1939
    • First Children's Book 'The Gremlins' is Published

    1943
    • JUL 02

      Marries Patricia Neal

    1953
    • 'James and the Giant Peach' Published

    1961
    • 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Published.

    1964
    • 'The Magic Finger' Published

    1966
    • 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' is released

    1968
    • 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Is Published

    1970
    • 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' Movie is Released

    1971
    • 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator' Published

    1973
    • 'The Twits' Published

    1980
    • Dahl Separates With Patricia Neal, 'George's Marvelous Medicine' is Published,

    1981
    • 'The BFG,' 'Revolting Rhymes' are Published

    1982
    • Marries Felicity Crosland, 'The Witches' Published

    1983
    • 'Boy: Tales of Childhood' Published

    1984
    • 'Matilda' is Published

    1988
    • NOV 23

      Died

    1990
  • Born

    Dahl began his life in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, on September 13, 1916. His parents, Harold and Sofie Magdalene Dahl, had immigrated to Wales from Sarpsborg, Norway. He was named after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who is best known for reaching both the North and South Poles.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • The Great Mouse Plot of 1924

    It was in 1924, when Dahl was merely eight years old, that he first experimented in real life with the devilishly hilarious antics that would one day be replicated in his children's books. He and his four friends called it The Great Mouse Plot of 1924 . There was a candy shop, pictured to the right, owned by a "mean and loathsome woman named Mrs. Pratchett. The boys solution? They put a dead mouse into a jar of gobstoppers at her candy shop. The gobstoppers featured in this prank make their second grand appearance in Dahl's famous book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • Joins the Royal Air Force

    With World War II in full force, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force. He would go on to partake in the Battle of Athens, which he described as "an endless blur of enemy fighters whizzing towards me from every side." Several months after the battle in 1941 he was discharged for medical reasons - he kept getting blistering headaches that resulted in his blacking out.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • First Children's Book 'The Gremlins' is Published

    'The Gremlins' was published in 1943 by Disney/Random House. The story draws on Royal Air Force folklore that blames mechanical issues on small mythical creatures called gremlins. The tale captured modest success, and U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt read the story to her grandchildren. His best and most popular works however, were still to come.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • Marries Patricia Neal

    American actress Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl were married in the Trinity Church in New York City. Their marriage would last for thirty years, and come upon both trials and triumphs. They had five children together. The first of whom, Olivia, died in 1962 of measles at 7 years old. Dahl was understandably devastated, and eventually dedicated one of his most famous works, The BFG, to her.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'James and the Giant Peach' Published

    'James and the Giant Peach' was Roald Dahl's first famous children's book.

    “Then they would roll these handfuls of cloud in their fingers until they turned into what looked like large white marbles. Then they would toss the marbles to one side and quickly grab more bits of cloud and start over again."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Published.

    Perhaps Roald Dahl's most famous work, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' spurred two movies and a sequel.

    "Mr Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change colour every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and sugar balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And, by a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds' eggs with black spots on them, and when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little DARKRED sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'The Magic Finger' Published

    'The Magic Finger,' a whimsical story about a hunting obsessed family that is turned into birds after shooting a passing flock of birds.

    "I can't stand hunting. I just can't stand it. It doesn't seem right to me that men and boys should kill animals just for the fun they get out of it."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' is released

    Roald Dahl cowrote the screenplay with Ken Hughes for this classic children's movie with starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes. His influence is particularly clear in the darker aspects of the film, such as the Vulgarian no-children policy strictly enforced by the Child Catcher.
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Is Published

    Dahl began the decade with a story of a clever fox who outwits the cruel farmers around him with humor and sass. 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' retained its popularity for decades, spurring a feature film after Dahl's death in 2009.

    "I understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable, but I'm gonna ignore your advice."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' Movie is Released

    Gene Wilder starred as Willy Wonka in this now classic movie. Dahl couldn't stand the movie, largely because he disagreed vehemently with the casting of Gene Wilder, who he thought was too whimsical. He declared that producers would never make a sequel movie.

    "If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator' Published

    Dahl published a sequel to 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' in which Charlie, his family, and Willy Wonka, are propelled into space by a great glass elevator.

    "A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'The Twits' Published

    In 1980, 'The Twits', is published. He tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Twit, who are very aptly named, and their adventures.

    “If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • Dahl Separates With Patricia Neal, 'George's Marvelous Medicine' is Published,

    Dahl and long time wife Patricia Neal separated after 30 years of marriage in 1981. At the same time, 'George's Marvelous Medicine', another Dahl classic, is published.

    "George didn't say a word. He felt quite trembly. He knew something tremendous had taken place that morning. For a few brief moments he had touched with the very tips of his fingers the edge of a magic world."

    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'The BFG,' 'Revolting Rhymes' are Published

    'The BFG,' standing for 'The Big Friendly Giant' was another of Dahl's works that was made into a movie in 2016. It was published in 1982, along with the hilarious 'Revolting Rhymes.'

    "A whizzpopper!" cried the BFG, beaming at her. "Us giants is making whizzpoppers all the time! Whizzpopping is a sign of happiness. It is music in our ears! You surely is not telling me that a little whizzpopping if forbidden among human beans?"
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • Marries Felicity Crosland, 'The Witches' Published

    Roald Dahl married Felicity 'Liccy' Crosland in 1983 in South London. They had been in a previous relationship together. In the same year, he published 'The Witches,' a spooky tale about a little boy who gets into very risky business when he meets the Grand High Witch. The book was made into a movie, a clip of which can be seen at the right.

    "She might even be your lovely school-teacher who is reading these words to you at this very moment. Look carefully at that teacher. Perhaps she is smiling at the absurdity of such a suggestion. Don't let that put you off. It could be part of cleverness. I am not, of course, telling you for one second that your teacher actually is a witch. All I am saying is that she might be one. It is most unlikely. But--here comes the big "but"--not impossible."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Boy: Tales of Childhood' Published

    Roald Dahl published his first autobiographical work in 'Boy: Tales of Childhood,' a set of childhood memories.

    " When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 'Matilda' is Published

    'Matilda,' his last famous children's book, was published in 1988. The book would go on to be the subject of a feature film, and a Broadway play.

    "So Matilda’s strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone."
    By Elizabeth Lewis
  • 2

    Died

    Oxford
    United Kingdom
    Roald Dahl died at 74 years old, leaving an irreplaceable legacy behind him. He had five children, and eight grandchildren. His works continue to enthrall both children and adults with their imaginative plots and adventurous language. Plays and movies continue to be made using Dahl's genius children's books to this day.
    By Elizabeth Lewis