Ian Lancaster Fleming

Ian Fleming was a British writer, journalist and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. He was born on May 28, 1908 in Mayfair, London, to a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co. His father was a Member of Parliament who died in World War I, and his brother was the travel writer Peter Fleming. Ian was educated at Eton, Sandhurst and the universities of Munich and Geneva. He worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters and a stockbroker before joining the Naval Intelligence Division in 1939. During World War II, he was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and overseeing two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952 at the age of 44. It was a success, and three print runs were commissioned to meet the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels centre around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and two works of non-fiction: The Diamond Smugglers and Thrilling Cities. Fleming was married to Ann Charteris, who had divorced her husband, the 2nd Viscount Rothermere, because of her affair with the author. They had one son, Caspar, who died by suicide in 1975. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker for most of his life and suffered from heart disease. He died of a heart attack on August 12, 1964 at the age of 56 in Canterbury, Kent. He was buried in St. James' Churchyard in Sevenhampton, Wiltshire. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously; other writers have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-seven times, portrayed by seven actors.