Hugh Lofting was born on January 14, 1886. From 1905-1906, he studied at MIT, Cambridge. He was trained to be a civil engineer, owing to which he travelled extensively. Later on, he enlisted in the Irish Guards regiment of the British Navy in World War I. Not wanting to write about the ruthlessness of war, Lofting composed imaginative letters to his children, which served as the foundation for Lofting’s creation of the beloved and immensely popular Doctor Dolittle series, the books of which have become classics in children’s literature. The first book of this series, The Story of Doctor Dolittle was published in 1920 and was an instant success. Lofting’s other works, such as The Story of Mrs. Tubbs (1933), Porridge Poetry (1924), and Noisy Nora (1929), were also successful amongst his young readers. His only work aimed at an adult audience was Victory for the Slain (1942), a long narrative poem about the futility of war.