Timeline

This timeline is about Roald Dahl's life. This timeline has information about Roald Dahl's family, books, and much more!

1916 Roald Dahl born September 13, 1916 in Llandaff.

1920 Sister Astri dies of appendicitis at the age of seven. A few ..........months later Dahl's father, Harald Dahl, dies.

1923 Enters Llandaff Cathedral School.

1925 Enters St. Peter's School in Weston Super Mare.

1929 Enters Repton Public School in Derby.

1934 Graduates from Repton. Accepts position with Shell Oil
..........Company in London.

1938 Begins working in Shell's branch office in East Africa.

1939 Joins Royal Air Force. Learns to fly fighter plane in
..........Nairobi, Kenya.

1940 Suffers serious injuries as result of plane crash in Libya.
..........Spends several months in military hospital in Alexandria, ..........Egypt.

1941 Rejoins his squadron, then stationed in Greece.

1942 Begins working at British Embassy in Washington. Shot
..........Down Over Libya appears in Saturday Evening Post in
..........August.

1943 The Gremlins. First published book.

1944 Dahl secures literary agent, Ann Watkins, and short
..........stories begin to be published in American magazines.

1945 Moves back to Amersham, England to be near mother
..........Sofie.

1946 Over to You.

1948 Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen. Begins dividing
..........his time between England and New York City.

1951 Meets future wife actress Patricia Neal.

1953 Someone Like You. Marries Patricia Neal on July 2.

1954 Purchases "Little Whittfield" farmhouse (later renamed
.........."Gypsy House") in Great Missenden, England. Wins Edgar
..........Allen Poe award and Mystery Writers of America award.

1955 "The Honeys" (play). Daughter Olivia Twenty born April
..........20.

1957 Daughter Chantal Sophia (renamed Tessa to avoid the
..........rhyme) born April 11.

1959 Kiss Kiss. Wins second Edgar Allan Poe Award and second ..........Mystery Writers of America Award.

1960 Son, Theo Matthew Roald, born July 30. Later baby's
..........carriage is hit by taxicab in New York City, causing
..........massive head injuries.

1961 "Way Out" (television program).

1962 James and the Giant Peach. Daughter Olivia dies of
..........measles encephalities on November 17.

1964 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 36 Hours. Daughter
..........Ophelia Magdalena born May 12.

1965 Parson's Pleasure (television movie). Patricia Neal
..........suffers three massive strokes, February 17. Daughter
..........Lucy Neal born August 4.

1966 The Magic Finger.
1967 You Only Live Twice (film). Dahl's mother Sofie dies on November 17.
1968 Selected Stories of Roald Dahl. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
1969 TwentyNine Kisses from Roald Dahl.
1970 Fantastic Mr. Fox.
1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (film). The Night Digger (film).
1972 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Wins New England Round Table of Children's
Librarians Award (for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
1973 Wins Surrey School award (for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
1975 Danny the Champion of the World. Wins Surrey School award (for Charlie and the Great
Glass Elevator).
1977 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
1978 The Enormous Crocodile and The Best of Roald Dahl. Wins Nene award (for Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator) and Surrey School award (for Danny the Champion of the World).
1979 My Uncle Oswald, Tales of the Unexpected, and Taste and Other Tales. "Tales of the
Unexpected" (televison program). Wins California Young Reader Medal (for Danny the
Champion of the World). Separates from Patricia Neal.
1980 The Twits, More Tales of the Unexpected, and Nine Short Stories. Wins third Mystery
Writers of America award.
1981 George's Marvelous Medicine and Further Tales of the Unexpected. The Patricia Neal Story
(film).
1982 The BFG and Revolting Rhymes. Wins Federation of Children's Book Groups Award (for
The BFG) and Massachusetts Children's Award (for James and the Giant Peach).
1983 The Witches, Dirty Beasts, and Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories. Wins New York Times
Outstanding Books Award (for The Witches) and Whitbread Award (for The Witches). Also
wins World Fantasy Convention Lifetime Achievement Award and Federation of Children's
Book Groups Award. Divorces Patricia Neal on November 17 and marries Felicity Crosland. 1984 Boy Tales of Childhood.
1985 The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Wins Kurt Maschler award runnerup (for The Giraffe
and the Pelly and Me) and Boston Globe/Horn Book nonfiction honor citation (for Boy
Tales of Childhood).
1986 Going Solo, Completely Unexpected Tales, Two Fables, and The Roald Dahl Omnibus Wins
West Australian Award (for The Witches) and International Board on Books for Young
People awards for Norwegian and German translations (for The BFG).
1988 Matilda and Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.
1989 Rhyme Stew. The BFG (film). Danny the Champion of the World (film). Breaking Point
(film).
1990 Esio Trot. The Witches (film). Wins Smarties Award (for Esio Trot). Roald Dahl dies
November 23 in Oxford, England.