Mr. Dahl is known for writing a number of popular children’s books, which include “Matilda,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “The BFG,” and “James and the Giant Peach.” His books have been translated into 58 different languages and have sold well over 200 million copies worldwide.
Roald Dahl was born on September 13, 1916, in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, to Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl. He attended Llandaff Cathedral School, and at the age of eight years old, he was severely caned by the headmaster after putting a dead mouse in a jar of gobstoppers at a local candy store. After that event, he transferred to St Peter’s boarding school. Later on, he would transfer to a private school known for its academic excellence, Repton. He graduated from Repton in 1932 and took a job with the Shell Oil Company, located in Tanzania, Africa, and stayed there until 1939.