Courtesy of Geekend at TechRepublic.On May 28, 1908, Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London, and in his 56 brief years on this Earth, he would help defeat the Nazis, launch the most successful movie franchise in history, and dream up one of the world’s most loveable sentient automobiles. And that’s not the half of it.
Fleming is perhaps best known as the creator of fictional British super-spy James Bond, who first appeared in Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale. The Bond character has gone on to star in more than 20 major motion pictures, which collectively grossed over $3 billion — a figure that dwarfs even the twin Star Wars trilogies in earnings. Bond’s book series wasn’t quite so popular in America when it began — until John F. Kennedy admitted he was a fan, spiking sales. Fleming’s Bond arguably launched the 1960s spy-fiction craze, combining suave super-heroics with gritty Cold War quasi-realism.
Yet, perhaps the most amazing character in Fleming’s life was Fleming himself. During World War II, Fleming was assigned to be the personal assistant to Britain’s Director of Naval Intelligence. From this post, he learned the spy game and planned an untold number of outlandish and effective missions, including Operation Goldeneye, which prepared to defend Gibraltar from Spain should the latter have joined the Axis powers, and an unnamed scheme that involved using occultist Aleister Crowley to manipulate Rudolf Hess. (Seriously.)
Thus, many of the trappings made famous by James Bond were test driven in Fleming’s own life, including Bond’s famous codename, 007. Fleming had one of those too.
WHAT WAS IAN FLEMING’S CODENAME WHEN HE WORKED FOR BRITISH INTELLIGENCE? Get the Answer.Jay Garmon hosts Geekend at the TechRepublic blogs. Check it out for even more Geek Trivia.
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