10 Fantastic Facts about the Marvelous Mr. Roald Dahl

September 13, 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of author Roald Dahl’s birth. Though best known as a beloved writer of children’s stories, Mr. Dahl produced works for a variety of tastes and audiences – poetry, non-fiction, scripts for movies and plays and a dozen short story collections for adults.

In fact, the wondrous worlds and characters he created on the page were not always just something born from his imagination. Dahl led an adventurous life full of eclectic interests and experiences. Here are just a few facts about this revered author and the legacy of his work you might not know.

1. Roald Dahl was born in Wales to Norwegian parents. As a child he was taken to Norway on family trips and was often regaled tales of trolls and witches from his parents’ homeland. In fact the Norwegian grandmother in his book The Witches is said to be inspired by his own mother.