Ian Fleming was born on May 28, 1908 at 27 Green Street in the wealthy London district of Mayfair. His mother was Evelyn St Croix Rose, and his father was Valentine Fleming, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Henley from 1910 until he was killed in World War I.
Fleming enrolled at Eton College in 1921. Although not a high achiever academically, he excelled at athletics and held the title of Victor Ludorum ("Winner of the Games") for two years between 1925 and 1927. James Bond later attended Eton.
In October 1931 Fleming was given a position as a sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters News Agency. Fleming spent time in Moscow, where he covered the Stalinist show trial of six engineers from the British company Metropolitan-Vicker.
Fleming worked for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. He was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force.
Fleming devised a World War II plan to plant false info about the Allies’ next attack on a dead man, drift him at sea, and hope he’d be found by Nazi sympathizers. Operation Mincemeat worked, turning the tide for the Allies, who stormed Italy while the Nazis defended Greece.
When the war ended, Ian Fleming retired to Jamaica where he built a house called "Goldeneye."
Ian Fleming's first novel featuring the British spy character James Bond was Casino Royale, which was published on April 13, 1953. The book was an immediate success and introduced readers to the character of James Bond, who would go on to become one of the most iconic figures in popular culture.
Fleming enrolled at Eton College in 1921. Although not a high achiever academically, he excelled at athletics and held the title of Victor Ludorum ("Winner of the Games") for two years between 1925 and 1927. James Bond later attended Eton.
In October 1931 Fleming was given a position as a sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters News Agency. Fleming spent time in Moscow, where he covered the Stalinist show trial of six engineers from the British company Metropolitan-Vicker.
Fleming worked for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. He was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force.
Fleming devised a World War II plan to plant false info about the Allies’ next attack on a dead man, drift him at sea, and hope he’d be found by Nazi sympathizers. Operation Mincemeat worked, turning the tide for the Allies, who stormed Italy while the Nazis defended Greece.
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| Ian Fleming. By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Wikipedia Commons |
When the war ended, Ian Fleming retired to Jamaica where he built a house called "Goldeneye."
Ian Fleming's first novel featuring the British spy character James Bond was Casino Royale, which was published on April 13, 1953. The book was an immediate success and introduced readers to the character of James Bond, who would go on to become one of the most iconic figures in popular culture.
Casino Royale was the first in a series of 14 James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming, with the last book published posthumously in 1966.
Ian Fleming got the name 'James Bond' from a real-life ornithologist from Philadelphia who was named 'James Bond'. Fleming had a copy of his book, The Birds of the West Indies and took a liking for that name.
He modelled the character of James Bond after Merlin Minshall, a man who worked for Fleming during WWII, as a spy.
Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl both worked for a branch of MI6. Dahl later wrote screenplays for two books for his pal. You Only Live Twice was released in 1967, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968.
Ian Fleming was told by his doctor that gin was damaging to his health (Fleming loved gin so much at one point he was getting through a bottle every day). The doctor then suggested something relatively less damaging to Fleming's health: bourbon.
Fleming died of a heart attack in Canterbury, Kent during the early morning of August 12, 1964. His reported last words were an apology to the ambulance drivers for having inconvenienced them, saying "I am sorry to trouble you chaps. I don't know how you get along so fast with the traffic on the roads these days."
Since Fleming's death in 1964, a number of other authors have written continuation works. The first of these was Kingsley Amis, writing under the pseudonym of "Robert Markham", who produced one novel.
Ian Fleming got the name 'James Bond' from a real-life ornithologist from Philadelphia who was named 'James Bond'. Fleming had a copy of his book, The Birds of the West Indies and took a liking for that name.
He modelled the character of James Bond after Merlin Minshall, a man who worked for Fleming during WWII, as a spy.
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| Ian Fleming's original sketch impression of James Bond. |
Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl both worked for a branch of MI6. Dahl later wrote screenplays for two books for his pal. You Only Live Twice was released in 1967, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968.
Ian Fleming was told by his doctor that gin was damaging to his health (Fleming loved gin so much at one point he was getting through a bottle every day). The doctor then suggested something relatively less damaging to Fleming's health: bourbon.
Fleming died of a heart attack in Canterbury, Kent during the early morning of August 12, 1964. His reported last words were an apology to the ambulance drivers for having inconvenienced them, saying "I am sorry to trouble you chaps. I don't know how you get along so fast with the traffic on the roads these days."
Since Fleming's death in 1964, a number of other authors have written continuation works. The first of these was Kingsley Amis, writing under the pseudonym of "Robert Markham", who produced one novel.
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