Happy Birthday August 11

Children's author Enid Mary Blyton was born on August 11, 1897 in East Dulwich, London to Thomas Carey Blyton, a cutlery salesman, and his wife Theresa Mary Harrison Blyton. She was educated at St. Christopher's School in Beckenham leaving as head girl. In 1922 Enid Blyton published her first book, Child Whispers, a collection of verse, but it was in the late 1930s that she began writing her many children's stories featuring such characters as Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven.

For more August 11 anniversaries, including the establishment of the British colony of Penang in Malaysia, the arrival of the first batch of prisoners at Alcatraz and the death of Robin Williams, check out OnThatDay.