1868: Charles Henry Harrod opens a shop in Kensington.
1871: Joseph Farnell founds the family business in Acton.
1879: Margarete Steiff makes toy stuffed elephant called ‘Elefante’.
1882: Alan Alexander Milne born on January 18 in Hampstead.
1891: Joseph.
dies leaving the business to his three daughters and son.
1893-1900: Alan Alexander Milne at Westminster School.
1894: Gebruder Sussenguth in Germany produce the first stuffed toy bear.
1900–1903: Alan Alexander Milne at Trinity College, Cambridge, on a mathematics scholarship.
1901: Queen Victoria dies.
1902: President Theodore Roosevelt refuses to shoot a bear cub and Maurice Michtom begins selling ‘Teddy’s bears.’.
1903: Steiff in Germany sells toy bears at Leipzig Toy Fair and teddy bear fever grips Europe.
1906: A.A. Milne becomes Assistant Editor of Punch.
1907: First advertisement for a ‘Teddy Bear’ appears in Playthings magazine.
1908: The Teddy Bears’ Picnic used as the music for Roosevelt’s Presidential Campaign. Animal skins being replaced by mohair as a softer more durable fabric for toy teddy bears.
Farnell produces the first British teddy bears in mohair.
1910: A.A. Milne meets Daphne (originally Dorothy) de Selincourt.
1912: Harrods catalogue cover shows a Farnell bear.
1913: A.A. Milne (known later as Blue) marries Daphne de Selincourt (known later as Daff).
1914: Lieutenant Colebourn buys a bear in Canada and names her Winnie. Lieutenant Colebourn posted to fight in Europe and takes Winnie with him to England. Presents Winnie to London Zoo.
1915–1919: A.A. Milne a signals officer and instructor in Army. Invalided out.
1917: A.A. Milne’s first play Wurzel-Flummery performed in London.
1919: A.A. Milne resigns from Punch .
His most famous play, Mr. Pim Passes By, produced in London.
Daff and Blue move to Mallord Street, Chelsea.
Anne Darlington born.
1920: Christopher Robin (known as Moon) born.
1921: Olive Rand (known as Nou) joins the family as Nanny.
Moon’s first birthday. Daff buys the bear destined to become Winnie-the-Pooh from Harrods.
1923: A.A. Milne writes the poem Vespers for Daphne, published first in Vanity Fair. The family holidays in Wales.
1924: Moon meets a swan while on holiday at Poling, Sussex and calls it Pooh.
Blue meets artist, Ernest Shepard (known as Kipper).
When We Were Very Young published, illustrated by Shepard. Milne launched as a children’s writer. Moon’s teddy bear made his first appearance as ‘Edward’ bear.
The Milnes discover Cotchford Farm on Ashdown Forest in Hartfield, Sussex.
1925: The family moves in to Cotchford for weekends and holidays.
Ernest Shepard and his wife Florence and son, Graham, visit Cotchford Farm.
‘Edward’ bear becomes ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’, explores the Forest and plays Poohsticks with Moon and Nou. Discovers the 100 Aker Wood and Owl’s tree. On 24 December, the London Evening News publish the story Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees. Illustrations by J.H. Dowd.
1926: Eeyore has a Birthday published in the August edition of the Royal Magazine and Winnie- the-Pooh, the best-selling of Milne’s books, published in London on 14 October and in New York on 21 October.
Pooh becomes world famous.
John Macrae, President of Dutton Publishing in New York, visits Milnes.
Moon starts morning school at Miss Walters in Chelsea.
1927: Now We Are Six, a second collection of children’s verse published in October.
Florence Shepard dies.
1928: Moon records Pooh Hums, Vespers and Buckingham Palace for HMV. The House at Pooh Corner published in October introducing Tigger.
1929: Moon starts boys’ school and Pooh is left at home.
Two plays produced, The Ivory Door and Toad of Toad Hall, an adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows.
Blue’s favourite brother, Ken dies in May.
Pooh takes part in The Pageant of Ashdown Forest attended by the Duchess of York (future Queen and mother of Queen Elizabeth II).
1930: Christopher starts boarding school. Nou leaves.
Stephen Slesinger visits Milnes and recognises Pooh’s potential for his marketing empire. Milne sells merchandising rights to him.
The Depression in Britain and uSA.
1931: Pooh has become a 50 million-dollar-a-year bear.
He stays in England while Daff and Blue visit the uSA.
1932: He is pictured in colour for the first time.
1933: Slesinger launches a Winnie-the-Pooh game.
1935: Pooh is earning more money for A.A. Milne than his serious plays or novels.
1939: A.A. Milne’s autobiography It’s Too Late Now published and dedicated to his brother, Ken.
Pooh probably first in Mallord Street, then in Sussex during the War years.
1941–1946: Christopher Milne in the Royal Engineers.
1947: Christopher graduates from Cambridge.
Elliott Macrae visits Cotchford Farm to arrange the toys’ visit to New York.
Pooh and the toys arrive in America on board Queen Elizabeth.
Elliott Graham becomes their guardian and Pooh is introduced to Dutton’s staff.
In June Pooh and the animals visit Detroit. Start tour of seven cities including Boston.
1948: Christopher Milne marries his cousin, Lesley de Selincourt, in July.
1951: A.A. Milne publishes his last play, Before the Flood.
Christopher Robin’s animals are now touring the united States.
E.P. Dutton, Milne’s American publisher, insures them for $50,000.
1952: Pooh in Miami and District Columbia.
A.A. Milne has a stroke in October and undergoes an operation in December that leaves him partially paralysed.
1953: Pooh’s first television appearance on Fred Waring Show .
1956: A.A. Milne dies 31 January aged 74. His four children’s books had already been translated into a dozen languages and sold more than seven million copies. Milne memorial service in London.
Daff offers the animals for sale to Dutton.
Clare Milne born to Christopher and Lesley.
1960: Winnie Ille Pu published and reaches New York best-seller list. Shirley Slesinger sells merchandising rights to Disney.
1966: Walt Disney launches Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
Walt Disney dies.
1969: Pooh returns to England for V&A exhibition and meets Peter Dennis.
1971: Daphne dies.
1976: Pooh returns to Hartfield.
E.H. Shepard dies.
1978: Mike Ridley opens Pooh Corner shop in Hartfield. Nou dies.
1979: Christopher Milne opens restored Pooh Bridge.
Plaque to A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard unveiled on Ashdown Forest by Christopher Milne.
1981: Pooh in Chicago and at the Fifth Avenue Book Fair.
1982: The Tao of Pooh published.
1983: Pooh flies to England on Concorde with American author Nancy Winters.
Appears on Today programme.
1986: Pooh and friends offered to The Children’s Room, New York Public Library.
1987: Party hosted by the Mayor of New York to celebrate their new home.
British Petroleum applies to sink a bore hole on Ashdown Forest. Protest led by Christopher Milne.
1988: Elliott Graham dies
1996: Christopher Milne dies.
1998: Gwynneth Dunwoody MP launches ‘Bring back Pooh’ campaign.
2000: Newly-restored Pooh Bridge reopened with funds from Disney.
2011: Pooh’s 90th birthday; an appeal launched to commemorate his life.