Profile of the Day: Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

Happy 107th birthday to author Ian Fleming!

The James Bond author was born on May 28, 1908 in Mayfair, London to a wealthy family. His father, Valentine Fleming, was a Member of Parliament and died in the trenches during World War I. Winston Churchill, a friend and fellow Parliament member, wrote Valentine’s obituary in The Times.

During World War II, Ian was recruited to work as a British Naval intelligence officer. His experience in the world of espionage inspired him to create his most famous character, the suave British Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond. Over the course of his career, Ian would write 12 novels featuring the British spy and see the character come to life on screen, starting with Sean Connery as James Bond.

Today the Bond novels rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time with over 100 million sold worldwide. The film series has also become one of the longest running film franchises in movie history.

Fun Fact: It wasn’t always about Bond. Ian Fleming is also the author of the children’s tale Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was published two months after his death in 1964.

Have you read his works? What’s are your favorites?

Ian Fleming is connected to over 90 million people in Geni’s World Family Tree. How are you related?
 

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Image: Wikimedia Commons