Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.
Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace (a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat) and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander.
Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". In 2008 The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his notable works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG.
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In July 1934, Dahl joined the Shell Petroleum Company. Following two years of training in the United Kingdom, he was transferred to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Along with the only two other Shell employees in the entire territory, he lived in luxury in the Shell House outside Dar-es-Salaam, with a cook and personal servants.
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In August 1939, as World War II loomed, plans were made to round up the hundreds of Germans in Dar-es-Salaam. Dahl was made an officer, commanding a platoon of Askaris, indigenous troops serving in the colonial army.
In November 1939, Dahl joined the Royal Air Force as an Aircraftman. After a 600-mile (970 km) car journey from Dar-es-Salaam to Nairobi, he was accepted for flight training with 16 other men, of whom only two others survived the war. With seven hours and 40 minutes experience in a De Havilland Tiger Moth, he flew solo; Dahl enjoyed watching the wildlife of Kenya during his flights. He continued to advanced flying training in Iraq. He was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 24 August 1940. Following six months' training , Dahl was made an Acting Pilot Officer.
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Dahl began writing in 1942, after he was transferred to Washington, D.C. as Assistant Air Attaché. His first published work, in 1 August 1942 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, was "Shot Down Over Libya" which described the crash of his Gloster Gladiator. C.S. Forester had asked Dahl to write down some RAF anecdotes so that he could shape them into a story. After Forester read what Dahl had given him, he decided to publish the story exactly as Dahl had written it. The original title of the article was "A Piece of Cake" but the title was changed to sound more dramatic, despite the fact that he was not actually shot down.
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Dahl married American actress Patricia Neal on 2 July 1953 in New York City. Their marriage lasted for 30 years and they had five children: Olivia, Tessa, Theo, Ophelia and Lucy.
On 5 December 1960, four-month-old Theo Dahl was severely injured when his baby carriage was struck by a taxicab in New York City. For a time, he suffered from hydrocephalus, and as a result, his father became involved in the development of what became known as the "Wade-Dahl-Till" (or WDT) valve, a device to alleviate the condition.
In November 1962, Olivia Dahl died of measles encephalitis at age seven. Dahl subsequently became a proponent of immunisation and dedicated his 1982 book The BFG to his daughter.
In 1965, wife Patricia Neal suffered three burst cerebral aneurysms while pregnant with their fifth child, Lucy; Dahl took control of her rehabilitation and she eventually relearned to talk and walk, and even returned to her acting career, an episode in their lives which was dramatised in the film The Patricia Neal Story, in which the couple were played by Glenda Jackson and Dirk Bogarde.
Dahl married Felicity Crosland, following a divorce from Neal in 1983. Dahl and Crosland had previously been in a relationship. According to biographer Donald Sturrock, Liccy gave up her job and moved into 'Gipsy House', which had been Dahl's home since 1954.
Source: Wikipedia
This a very interesting article about the worst years he lived, from the accident suffered by his son to her wife's stroke.
Roald Dalh's darkest hour
