Little Roald was born on the 13th of September 1916. 

As a kid, he wasn't particularly known for his writing! But many of his childhood experiences came to inspire his stories years later. For instance, a chocolate maker used to taste-test their new products at Roald's school, and he used to dream of inventing a new chocolate bar! Hmm, sound familiar?

But before becoming an author, Roald Dahl was actually a fighter pilot in World War Two, and later a spy for MI6, working alongside Ian Fleming – the man who created James Bond!

Oh, hello, Ian.

Hello, Roald.

It wasn't until 1943 that Dahl put pencil to his favourite yellow paper and published his first kids' book, The Gremlins, a tale of naughty creatures that cause mechanical problems on planes! Dahl went on to write 16 other kids' books, selling more than 200 million copies worldwide.