Winnie the Pooh first appeared as a character in print in a story by A.A. Milne in the December 24th issue of London's "Evening News." The bear in the story was inspired by a stuffed toy bear belonging to Milne's son Christopher Robin, who became the basis for the character of the same name in the Pooh stories. Several of the child's toys went on to become other characters in Winnie the Pooh stories including Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger.
Although the written character was based on Christopher Robin's bear, when illustrator E.H. Shepard was hired to do the art to accompany the stories he modeled Winnie the Pooh after his own son's toy bear. In 1961 the Walt Disney Company purchased the rights to Winnie the Pooh and redesigned the character for a series of short animated films, creating the Pooh bear millions of people recognize today.
Christopher Robin Milne named his toy bear after a real black bear that was on display at the London Zoo for much of his childhood. The bear was named "Winnie" by its owner after the Canadian city of Winnipeg before the man left the bear in the care of the zoo.
The original toy bear belonging to Christopher Robin Milne, along with several of his other toys, is now on display in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City.