Winnie the Pooh

    Winnie the Pooh was not just the result of a child's imagination; Winnie was a real bear cub bought by a soldier during the First World War. He named the bear after his hometown: Winnipeg. Winnie soon became the mascot of the brigade and went to Europe with them. Winnie's owner, Harry Colebourn, was now a captain and he couldn't take Winnie wherever the troops had to go. So he gave the bear the the London zoo for a long loan. There, Winnie became a popular attraction from December 1919 when he was first sent there, until 1934 when he left. Christopher Robin was the son of author A.A. Milne and he was Winnie's biggest fan. Christopher would spend hours inside the cage with Winnie. Soon after his father realized his son's fascination, he started writing story books about 'Winnie the Pooh'. He created other characters such as Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo based on Christopher's stuffed animals. The characters Owl and Rabbit were based on real animals that lived around their house. The character's home, The 100-Acre-Wood, was based on the Cotchford farm in Ashdown forest in Sussex. 'Winnie the Pooh' was published by Methuen on October 14, 1916; 'Now we are Six' in 1927, and ' The House at Pooh Corner' in 1928. All of the story books were illustrated by E.H. Shepard, bringing each character to life. The books became so popular that they were translated into almost every language. Walt Disney became interested in Winnie the Pooh when his daughters started reading them; he decided to bring Pooh to film in 1966. Winnie became the second most popular Disney character, right after Mickey Mouse himself.

http://www.just-pooh.com/history.html

http://www.poohcorner.com/A-Short-History-of-Pooh-and-Winnie.html