--- title: Roald Dahl's Heartbreaking Letter Defends the Measles Vaccine description: Dahl's daughter died from the measles as a child canonical: https://time.com/3692439/roald-dahl-measles-letter/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-02T17:51:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:16:27.562Z og:title: Read Roald Dahl's Tear-Jerking Letter Explaining Why People Should Vaccinate Their Children og:description: Dahl's daughter died from the measles as a child. og:url: https://time.com/3692439/roald-dahl-measles-letter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5720089b77a2d2d/69877d2e3c1639058d4518a5/465280065.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4969 og:image:height: 2795 og:image:alt: Roald Dahl og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Roald Dahl's Tear-Jerking Letter Explaining Why People Should Vaccinate Their Children twitter:description: Dahl's daughter died from the measles as a child. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd5720089b77a2d2d/69877d2e3c1639058d4518a5/465280065.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read Roald Dahl's Tear-Jerking Letter Urging Parents to Vaccinate Their Kids > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 2, 2015 5:51 PM UTC  British writer Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990) on Dec. 11, 1971 British writer Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990) on Dec. 11, 1971Ronald Dumont—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 2, 2015 5:51 PM UTC As the recent [measles outbreak](http://time.com/3692276/measles-numbers-cdc/) in the U.S. grows, fueling a debate about parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, a 27-year-old letter written by beloved author Roald Dahl explaining his passionate stance on the issue has gone [viral](http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/02/01/why-childrens-author-roald-dahl-was-pro-vaccine/). Dahl, who wrote classics including _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ and _Matilda_, penned a letter in 1988, two years before he died, begging parents to not deny their children vaccinations “out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear.” Dahl [explained](http://roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/timeline/1960s/november-1962): --- > “” --- Olivia, to whom _James and the Giant Peach_ and _The BFG_ were dedicated, died in 1962 — before there was a measles vaccine. More than two decades later, Dahl told British parents that their refusal to vaccinate their own children was “almost a crime” and called for mandatory immunization. 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