A. A. Milne- Creator of One of the World's Most Beloved Characters, Winnie the Pooh

Alan Alexander Milne is better known as A.A. Milne, his pen name. A. A. Milne was born in 1882 in London, England. Milne's memory has become immortal from his creation of the beloved Winnie the Pooh character. Besides Winnie the Pooh books, Milne also wrote children's poems and plays.

Milne's father, John V. Milne, ran a small school in Kilburn, London. H.G. Wells was a teacher at the school and taught A. A. Milne. Later, Milne attended Trinity College in Cambridge on a mathematics scholarship. He wrote for and edited the college's student magazine. A popular British magazine, "Punch" recognized the talent in A.A. Milne's writing. Milne started writing for the magazine and later became assistant editor.

A.A. Milne served as an officer during World War I in the British army. After the war ended, Milne denounced war by writing "Peace with Honour" in 1934. He wrote a contradictory article years later titled "War with Honour". A.A. Milne also served as Captain of the Home Guard in Hartfield & Forest Row during World War II.

Milne married Dorothy de Selincourt in 1913. They had one son named Christopher Robin. Christopher was born in 1920. Milne's infamous Winnie the Pooh books are based upon the character being named after his son, Christopher Robin. Other characters in the book, including Winnie the Pooh, were created by the inspirations of Christopher Robin's many stuffed toy animals. The first self-titled Winnie the Pooh book was published in 1926.

The adorable illustrations in all of the Winnie the Pooh books are by E.H. Shepard. The illustration of Winnie the Pooh bear was also inspired by a stuffed animal, Shepard's son's stuffed toy bear. Christopher Robin Milne's original stuffed animals are on display at the Donnell Library in New York.