Timelines

This timeline contains all information about Roald Dahl's life, the books he wrote, and movies, television shows, and theater productions he was involved in. It continues past his death to the present day (since new Dahl works are still being released). To sort the list, simply select the category you'd like to see from the dropdown list below and click the Sort button.

• 1911     Harald Dahl (Roald's father) marries Sofie Magdalene Hesselberg and they move to Llandaff, South Wales.
• 1916     Roald Dahl born September 13, 1916 in Llandaff.
• 1920     Sister Astri dies of appendicitis at the age of seven. A few months later Dahl's father, Harald Dahl, dies.
• 1923     Enters Llandaff Cathedral School.
• 1925     Enters St. Peter's School in Weston–Super–Mare.
• 1929     Enters Repton Public School in Derby.
• 1934     Graduates from Repton. Accepts position with Shell Oil Company in London.
• 1938     Begins working in Shell's branch office in East Africa.
• 1939     Joins Royal Air Force. Learns to fly fighter plane in Nairobi, Kenya.
• 1940     Suffers serious injuries as result of plane crash in Libya. Spends several months in military hospital in Alexandria, Egypt.
• 1941     Rejoins his squadron, then stationed in Greece.
• 1942     Begins working at British Embassy in Washington. "Shot Down Over Libya" appears in Saturday Evening Post in August.
• 1943     The Gremlins. First published book.
• 1944     Dahl secures literary agent, Ann Watkins, and short stories begin to be published in American magazines.
• 1945     Moves back to Amersham, England to be near mother Sofie.
• 1946     Over to You.
• 1948     Some Time Never: A Fable for Supermen. Begins dividing his time between England and New York City.
• 1951     Meets future wife, actress Patricia Neal.
• 1953     Marries Patricia Neal on July 2. Someone Like You.
• 1954     Purchases "Little Whitefield" farmhouse (later renamed "Gipsy House") in Great Missenden, England.
• 1955     "The Honeys". Daughter Olivia Twenty born April 20.
• 1957     Daughter Chantal Sophia (renamed Tessa to avoid the rhyme) born April 11.
• 1958     Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
• 1959     Kiss Kiss.
• 1960     Son, Theo Matthew Roald, born July 30. Later baby's carriage is hit by taxicab in New York City, causing massive head injuries.
• 1961     Hosts "Way Out". James and the Giant Peach.
• 1962     Daughter Olivia dies of measles encephalities on November 17.
• 1964     36 Hours. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Daughter Ophelia Magdalena born May 12.
• 1965     Parson's Pleasure. Patricia Neal suffers three massive strokes on February 17 and returns home three months later. Daughter Lucy Neal born August 4.
• 1966     The Magic Finger.
• 1967     You Only Live Twice. Dahl's mother Sofie dies on November 17.
• 1968     Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Selected Stories of Roald Dahl.
• 1969     Twenty Nine Kisses from Roald Dahl.
• 1970     Fantastic Mr. Fox.
• 1971     Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and The Night Digger.
• 1972     Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.
• 1974     Switch B***h.
• 1975     Danny the Champion of the World.
• 1977     The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
• 1978     The Enormous Crocodile and The Best of Roald Dahl.
• 1979     Separates from Patricia Neal. Hosts "Tales of the Unexpected". My Uncle Oswald, Tales of the Unexpected, and Taste and Other Tales.
• 1980     The Twits, More Tales of the Unexpected, and A Roald Dahl Selection: Nine Short Stories.
• 1981     George's Marvelous Medicine and Further Tales of the Unexpected. The Patricia Neal Story.
• 1982     The BFG and Revolting Rhymes.
• 1983     Divorces Patricia Neal on November 17 and marries Felicity Crosland. The Witches, Dirty Beasts, and Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories.
• 1984     Boy – Tales of Childhood.
• 1985     The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me.
• 1986     Going Solo, Completely Unexpected Tales, Two Fables, and The Roald Dahl Omnibus.
• 1987     A Second Roald Dahl Selection: Eight Short Stories.
• 1988     Matilda and Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.
• 1989     Rhyme Stew. The BFG, Danny the Champion of the World, and Breaking Point.
• 1990     Esio Trot. The Witches. Roald Dahl dies November 23 in Oxford, England.
• 1991     The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl, and Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety. The Vicar of Nibbleswicke, Memories with Food at Gipsy House, The Minpins.
• 1992     Idealnaya para.
• 1993     My Year.
• 1994     Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes.
• 1995     Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories. Pisvingers!.
• 1996     Matilda and James and the Giant Peach.
• 1997     The Great Automatic Grammatizator and Other Stories.
• 1998     The Umbrella Man and Other Stories.
• 2000     The Mildenhall Treasure and Skin and Other Stories.