The story of Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh has been a childhood favorite for generations. Originally created in 1926, his stories have sparked wholesome, honey-loving, childhood dreams for nearly a century.

Although there are many other characters within the Winnie the Pooh universe (Kanga, Rabbit, Roo, and Tigger — just to name a few), there is not doubt that the bear wearing a red shirt — with his fist shoved into a jar of honey — is most certainly a fan favorite.

National Winnie the Pooh Day, on January 18, is your time to return to the Hundred Acre Wood!

History of Winnie the Pooh

Purchased from Harrods, Edward Bear was given to Christopher Robin by his mother Daphne as a first birthday present on 21 August 1921.

Daphne’s husband and Christopher’s father, AA Milne, was so enamoured by the partnership he witnessed between a boy and his bear, that he began to write stories about their journey through life together (around 1926) - and the stories of Winnie the Pooh were born.

All the other characters including Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga and Too were based on Christopher Robin’s other stuffed animals. Additional characters were inspired by animals that lived in the woods near the Milne home.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that Disney bought the rights to the collection of books. In 1977 “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” became the first feature-length animated film about the honey-loving bear. In 1993, the Walt Disney Company confirmed Pooh Bear is second only in popularity to Mickey Mouse the world over. That’s really saying something!

Today the classic children’s stories have been translated into almost every known language. A conservative estimate for the total sales was over 20 million copies by 1996.

Where did Winnie the Pooh get his name?

The name for this famous bear was inspired by a black bear who lived at the London Zoo during WWI. Originally owned by a resident of Winnipeg, Canada, she was give the name “Winnie” as a term of endearment for her hometown. The author’s son, Christopher Robin would often visit the bear (and was rumored to hang out in her cage with her!) and eventually named his own teddy bear in her honor.

The name “Pooh” was later adopted from a swan with the same name, as mentioned in the introduction of Milne’s “When We Were Very Young.”

Best Winnie the Pooh quotes

Here are some of the best quotes from the sweet children's books:

“If you live to be a 100, I want to live to be a 100 minus one day so I never have to live without you.” - Winnie The Pooh

"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." - Christopher Robin

"Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart.” - Winnie The Pooh

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” - Winnie The Pooh

“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like, 'What about lunch?'” - Winnie The Pooh

100 years of Christopher Robin's bear

In 2021, the UK’s oldest remaining teddy bear manufacturer, Merrythought, celebrated the 100th birthday of Edward Bear, Christopher Robin’s much-loved childhood bear who became the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.

Originally created by Farnell in 1921, Edward Bear was brought to life again for the 2017 Goodbye Christopher Robin film.

Now a century later, a new generation of Edward bears are charming children and adults across the world.

Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections.

Winnie the Pooh books and gifts

Read more popular articles

The story of the teddy bear

How to trace your ancestry

Old money: Remembering pounds, shillings and pence