Michael Bond

British writer (1926–2017)

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Born: January 13, 1926
Died: June 27, 2017
Zodiac sign: Capricorn
Birth year: 1926

About Michael Bond

Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, and the characters have also appeared in several animated television series, a film series, and a stage musical. == Early life == Thomas Michael Bond was born on 13 January 1926 in Newbury, Berkshire. He grew up in Reading, where his visits to Reading railway station to watch the Cornish Riviera Express pass through at speed started a love of trains. His father was a manager for the post office. He was educated at Presentation College in Reading. His time there was unhappy. He told The Guardian in November 2014 that his parents had chosen the school "for the simple reason [that his] mother liked the colour of the blazers... she didn't make many mistakes in life, but that was one of them".

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Bond began writing in 1945, when he was stationed with the Army in Cairo, and sold his first short story to the magazine London Opinion.
After he'd produced several plays and short stories and had become a BBC television cameraman (he worked on Blue Peter for a time), his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published by Collins in 1958.
On 6 July 2007 the University of Reading awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Michael Bond timeline

1945Bond began writing in 1945, when he was stationed with the Army in Cairo, and sold his first short story to the magazine London Opinion.
1958After he'd produced several plays and short stories and had become a BBC television cameraman (he worked on Blue Peter for a time), his first book, A Bear Called Paddington, was published by Collins in 1958.
2007On 6 July 2007 the University of Reading awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

The world when Michael Bond was born

Michael Bond was born in 1926. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1926

#1 song"Bye Bye Blackbird"
Top movieThe General (Buster Keaton)
Best-selling bookThe Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentGertrude Ederle swims the English Channel
Top headlineA.A. Milne publishes Winnie-the-Pooh
Technology milestoneFirst demonstration of television
Defining fadFlagpole sitting
Notable inventionPop-up toaster
World population2.01 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
U.S. population117.4M

1926 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Michael Bond's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1926	2026
Gas	$0.23	$3.45/gal
Average home	$6,000	$435,000
Average income	$3,620	$67,500
Movie ticket	$0.25	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.02	$0.73
Population	117.4M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.