Winnie the Pooh

During the time of WWI, troops were being sent from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) and were traveling east to Europe. One of the stops during the train ride in 1914 was in White River, Ontario. It was there that lieutenant Harry Colebourn bought a black American bear cub from a trapper for twenty dollars. Colebourn named the bear "Winnipeg" ("Winnie" for short) after the name of his hometown. The bear was a huge hit with the troops along their journey. But once the troops were told they were going to be headed to France for duty, the bear could no longer join them. Colebourn who had now become Captain, presented the bear to the London Zoological Gardens. Winnie became a very popular attraction until he passed away in 1934.

"The bear was also very popular by Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne. It was his favorite at the zoo, and he often spent time inside the cage with it. The bear was Christopher Robin's inspiration for calling his own teddy bear Winnie.... Winnie the Pooh (this teddy bear started out with the name of Edward Bear). The name of Pooh originally belonged to a swan, as can be seen in a poem from Milne's When We Were Very Young." Milne was so inspired by his sons liking to Winnie that he started to write books about Christopher and the bear along with other characters (Tigger, Roo, Piglet...) that were stuffed animals of his. An illustrator by the name of Ernest Shepard decided to spend time on Milne's country estate and draw for Milne's stories. In 1926, the Winnie the Pooh books were printed.

They became so popular that Winnie the Pooh was also made into an animated film that was seen by viewers in 1977.

DH

http://www.winniethepoohbear.net/history.php

http://www.essortment.com/all/historywinniet_rmeu.htm