Voting Station

Hugh Lofting

Please vote to return to collections.

Author

The Resume

    (January 14, 1886-September 26, 1947)
    Born in Maidenhead, England, United Kingdom
    Created the character Dr. Dolittle
    Won the Newbery Medal for the book 'The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle' (1923)
    Wrote the poem 'Victory for the Slain' (1942)

Why he might be annoying:

    As a child, he kept a small menagerie of wild animals -- at least until his mother found them in her linen closet.
    He never considered himself a children's author, noting 'For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles.''
    Dr. Dolittle's short-tempered parrot Pollyanna spouts the epithets 'darkies' and 'niggers.'
    The first Dr. Dolittle book featured a subplot in which Prince Bumpo asks the doc to turn him white.

Why he might not be annoying:

    As a civil engineer, he surveyed railroads in Canada, Cuba and Nigeria.
    He was badly wounded by grenade shrapnel in World War I.
    He created Dr. Dolittle in letters he wrote to his children in WWI, when the actual news was either too horrible or too dull to relate.
    The New York Times wrote, 'Perhaps most important, the Dolittle books are enthusiastic about the joy of using one's mind. What more can we ask of children's books?'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying