Jan 13, 2023
British author Thomas Michael Bond CBE was born on January 13, 1926. Bond is best remembered for children stories about Paddington Bear. The much-loved stories are not only published as books but also adapted for screen. On his birth anniversary today, here we share some interesting facts about author Michael Bond that everyone should know.
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Bond left school when he was just 14-years-old. He then started working at a solicitor’s office, and later volunteered in the Royal Air Force and joined the army. It was in the army that he started writing. After this, he worked at the BBC as a cameraman where also produced plays and short stories.
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Bond once noticed a lone toy bear at a department store in London on the Christmas Eve of 1956. He ended up buying the bear as a present for his wife. It was this lone toy bear that inspired him to write his first Paddington Bear story.
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The first Paddington Bear book ‘A Bear Called Paddington’ was published in 1958. The rest, as they say, is history. During his lifetime, Bond published roughly 200 children's books!
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Michael Bond became a writer by chance. His first Paddington Bear book was published in 1958, but it was only in 1965 that he turned a full time writer. He wrote 150 Paddington Bear books, which have been translated to roughly 40 languages.
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The last Paddington Bear book, ‘Paddington’s Finest Hour’, was published in 2017. Michael Bond died on June 27, 2017 in London, UK at the age of 91.
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In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her platinum jubilee as the longest serving monarch in British history. As a part of the celebrations, she was seen in a fun skit along with Paddington Bear which surprised everyone. And so, when the news of Queen Elizabeth II's death was announced, mourners paid their tribute to the Queen by leaving Paddington Bears outside Buckingham Palace. They were later cleaned and donated to charity by the Royal family.
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While the British writer is best-remembered for creating the iconic character- Paddington Bear, he also created other beloved characters. Some of them were Olga da Polga- a guinea pig, Monsieur Pamplemousse- a retired detective who later became a restaurant critic, Pommes Frites- a bloodhound, among others.
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Check out The Times of India's Books section.
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Thanks For Reading!
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