August 22 marks a very special day in the Hundred Acre Wood. It’s Winnie the Pooh’s birthday and this year, the iconic children’s character turned 102.
To celebrate the big day, voice actor Jim Cummings, better known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, shared a special birthday message on social media.
Winnie the Pooh was created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Pooh first appeared by name in a children’s story commissioned by London’s Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
The character is based on a stuffed bear that Milne bought for his son, Christopher Robin Milne, on whom the character ‘Christopher Robin’ was based.
According to representatives for Disney, every character that makes up the stuffed animal crew of the Hundred Acre Wood – Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, Roo, Eeyore – were based off of toys owned by the real-life Christopher Robin.
Winnie-the-Pooh, the first collection of stories about the character, was published in 1926, followed by The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 11: Winnie The Pooh receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre on April 11, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 11: (L-R) Rabbit, Winnie The Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger pose for photos as Winnie The Pooh receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre on April 11, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 11: Winnie The Pooh receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre on April 11, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
LONDON – DECEMBER 15: A rare American first edition of a Winnie-the-Pooh book signed by the author A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H Shephard is displayed with Pooh characters form a 1930’s game at a press preview at Sotheby’s Auctioneers on December 15, 2008 in London. Sotheby’s is holding an auction of original artworks and rare first edition books featuring the famous characters by A.A. Milne from the private collections of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone on December 17, 2008. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
LONDON – DECEMBER 15: An original E.H. Shephard drawing entitled ‘Floating Bear’ , one of a sequence of six, for a Winnie-the-Pooh book is displayed at a press preview at Sotheby’s Auctioneers on December 15, 2008 in London. Sotheby’s is holding an auction of original artworks and rare first edition books featuring the famous characters by A.A. Milne from the private collections of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone on December 17, 2008. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
LONDON – DECEMBER 15: A rare American first edition of a Winnie-the-Pooh book is displayed at a press preview at Sotheby’s Auctioneers on December 15, 2008 in London. Sotheby’s is holding an auction of original artworks and rare first edition books featuring the famous characters by A.A. Milne from the private collections of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone on December 17, 2008. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
In April 2006, Winnie the Pooh received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
>> Read more here.
