Paddington bear creator Michael Bond dies

It was a last-minute Christmas gift for his wife that inspired Michael Bond to create Paddington bear, the marmalade-loving teddy in a duffel coat and floppy hat.

Bond would go on to see his creation enchant children for more than half a century and become an icon immortalized in print, on screens and as countless stuffed toys before his death at age 91.

His publisher, Harper-Collins, said Wednesday that the author died at his home a day earlier after a short illness.

Ann-Janine Murtagh, executive publisher of Harper-Collins Children’s Books, said Bond “will be forever remembered for his creation of the iconic Paddington, with his duffel coat and wellington boots, which touched my own heart as a child and will live on in the hearts of future generations.”

The furry adventurer first appeared in “A Bear Called Paddington” in 1958 — a stowaway from “Darkest Peru” who arrived at London’s Paddington train station wearing a sign saying “Please look after this bear. Thank you.”

Adopted by the kindly Brown family, the misadventure-prone bear went on to star in more than 20 books, several television series and a 2014 feature film. A sequel is currently in production.

The books have sold some 35 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 40 languages, including Latin (“Ursus Nomine Paddington.”)