A. A. Milne

A. A. Milne

About A. A. Milne

A.A. Milne
Full Name: Alan Alexander Milne
Born: January 18, 1882
Died: January 31, 1956

The Milne family lived in a small public school house that the parents ran called Henley House School on 6/7 Mortimer Road. (Thwaite) John and Sarah Milne were both schoolteachers and had two sons when they had Alan Alexander Milne on January 18, 1882. Alan was considered smarter than his two older brothers, Ken and Barry. He spoke early and proved to be quite bright. When Alan was only eleven years old he received a scholarship to a prestigious school, Westminster school in London. There he latched on to one of his teachers, H.G. Wells, who was a positive influence and role model for him. (H.G. Wells later became a famous author, most notably for "War of the Worlds.") (Hunter)

When Alan graduated from Trinity College in Cambridge in 1903 he had dreams of being a writer. His father, in an effort to keep his sons from moving home, gave him money to live. It only lasted nine months, and to supplement his income he started publishing funny articles in multiple magazines. The most popular was a satire magazine that was around from 1841 to 1992 called Punch. Within a few years he was promoted to associated editor (Hunter).

At the age of 31, Milne married Daphne de Selincourt, a 23 year old pretty, affluent women. Shortly after their marriage World War I broke out and, despite opposing war, Milne enlisted in the army. He served in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment and was stationed in France. He was sent home for having very serious trench fever, which comes from lice (Hunter). However, he was then recruited by Military Intelligence to write articles in favor of the war (Finch). Sixteen years later he wrote about how war was intolerable in a piece called "War with Honour" (Thwaite).

In 1920 his wife gave birth to their only child, Christopher Robin. They called him Billy, and he was doted on by his parents. Milne was a very involved father, and often found inspiration with Billy, which he translated into his poems such as "Vespers," about Christopher Robin "saying his prayers" (Hunter).

Milne used to make up bedtime stories to help his son go to sleep. He used many of the stuffed animals in Billy's room as inspiration. One day, while visiting the London Zoological Gardens, Billy had a "meet and greet" with a very tame bear from Winnipeg, Manitoba, named Winnie. Billy bottle fed Winnie and played with him in his cage. Milne used this experience as inspiration. Ironically, Milne never read Winnie the Pooh to Billy (Hunter).

Christopher Robin, aka Billy, never appreciated his father bringing him into the limelight, as he was painfully shy. It is said that their relationship suffered because of it. It caused such a degree of resentment that Billy never read the books until later in his life (Hunter).

Milne continued to write, including political and religious essays. He wrote an expose opposing war and continued writing until he became ill in 1952. On January 31, 1956, Milne died after a painfully long illness due to a stroke.

In his lifetime, Milne produced many plays with varying styles and genres. Many of his children's plays were appreciated by adults. (Hunter).

Milne was unique as a writer, because while others wrote about the harsh realities of life, Milne created a whimsical reality full of friendship and laughter. Writing whimsical and funny stories was as a way to soothe himself from the combat he had experienced during World War. Milne's family and immediate surroundings were a strong and literal influence on the Hundred Acre Wood's stories (Hunter).

Finch, Christopher (2000). Disney's Winnie the Pooh: A Celebration of the Silly Old Bear. Disney Editions. p. 18.ISBN 978-0-7868-6352-5.
Hunter, Karen. "A.A. Milne." A.A. Milne (2005): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Thwaite, Ann (January 2008). "Milne, Alan Alexander (1882-1956)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

10 Interesting Facts About the Author of "Winnie the Pooh", A.A. Milne

  1. His parents were Scots.

    milne gibson
  2. He wrote other pieces besides Winnie The Pooh (shocker) such as poetry, books, and plays.

    The Red House Mystery was a witty murder mystery.

  3. He lived in a school house that his father ran.

    One-room schoolhouse
  4. Milne had a math scholarship for college.

    math
  5. As a student, he wrote for a humor magazine called Punch and later became an assistant editor.

  6. He as in the British Army while being known as a famous pacifist.

  7. His first book, in 1905, was Lovers in London."

    fail

    It was an epic fail. Epic.

  8. His son's name was Christopher Robin.

    Christopher Robin Milne

    Very subtle A.A. Milne...

  9. Although pictured as a doll in the photos of Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh was actually based on Christopher's favorite bear at the London zoo, and Rabbit and Owl were based on actual animals surrounding the Milne home. The other characters were based on his son's stuffed dolls.

    Brown Bear
  10. A.A Milne looks remarkably like the Pulp Fiction actor Peter Greene.

    a.a. milne looks like peter green

    Poems by A. A. Milne

  • Us Two

    Famous Poem

    in Famous Friendship Poems

    Wherever I am, there's always Pooh,
    There's always Pooh and Me.
    Whatever I do, he wants to do,
    "Where are you going today?" says Pooh:

    More...

    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 1
    • Shares 5244
    • Favorited 19
    • Votes 520
    • Rating 4.33
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    Well my name is Rahma and my best friend is called Innocent. We have been friends for 10 years now since I was in primary school. He was good at math, and I was great in English. Our...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (1)

  • Halfway Down

    Famous Poem


    in Famous Children Poems

    Halfway down the stairs
    Is a stair
    Where I sit.
    There isn't any

    More...

    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 3
    • Shares 11585
    • Favorited 22
    • Votes 1753
    • Rating 4.17
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    My mum and dad would read and recite all of AA Milne's poems and stories to the four of us in the early 1950's. There was one piece that I can vaguely remember; it was about a leather donkey...

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  • Sneezles

    Famous Poem


    in Famous Children Poems

    Christopher Robin
    Had wheezles
    And sneezles,
    They bundled him

    More...

    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 6
    • Shares 7684
    • Favorited 15
    • Votes 1188
    • Rating 4.18
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    I am an 80-year-old woman who has just moved into a seniors' residence. Shortly after I arrived, COVID-19 did too! For over a month now, we have been kept in isolation from the rest of the...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (6)

  • Waiting At The Window

    Famous Poem


    in Famous Children Poems

    These are my two drops of rain
    Waiting on the window-pane.

    I am waiting here to see

    More...

    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 3
    • Shares 17757
    • Favorited 32
    • Votes 2141
    • Rating 4.17
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    Isn't it awesome how while there is rain we still have something to do!

    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (3)

  • Wind On The Hill

    Famous Poem


    in Famous Children Poems

    No one can tell me,
    Nobody knows,
    Where the wind comes from,
    Where the wind goes.

    More...

    Go To Complete Poem

    • Stories 13
    • Shares 55971
    • Favorited 77
    • Votes 5594
    • Rating 4.25
    • Poem of the Day
    Featured Shared Story

    This is beautiful! I love the description, and I will be using this for a presentation. Thank you so much for sharing. This is a question I think everyone has thought about at some point in...

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    Touched by the poem? Share your story! (13)



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