Death of Olivia Dahl  Olivia Twenty Dahl (20 April 1955 – 17 November 1962) was the eldest child of the author Roald Dahl and the American actress Patricia Neal. She died at the age of seven from measles, before a vaccine had been developed. Roald Dahl's novels "James and the Giant Peach" (1961) and "The BFG" (1982) were dedicated to Olivia. As a result of her death, her father Roald later became a pro-vaccination advocate, soon writing the 1988 pamphlet ""Measles, a Dangerous Illness"". Dahl was born in New York City and grew up in the Buckinghamshire village of Great Missenden. She was named for Olivia, the heroine of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", a favourite play of her mother. Her middle name, Twenty, originated from the date of her birth, and the fact that her father had $20 in his pocket when he saw her in hospital for the first time. Neal struggled with Olivia shortly after her birth, but found her behaviour transformed after spending a few weeks with her paternal aunt, Elsie Logsdail. Roald Dahl constructed his writing hut in the orchard of the couple's Gipsy House for peace and quiet to write after her birth. Olivia came home from her school, Godstowe Preparatory School, in November 1962 with a note informing her parents of an outbreak of measles. Neal contacted her brother-in-law, Ashley Miles, who sent them gamma globulin, then common in the United States, to boost children's immunity against measles. Miles only provided a small amount, which the Dahls used for their son, Theo. Neal recalled in her autobiography, "As I Am", that Miles said that "Let the girls get measles...It will be good for them". Olivia subsequently contracted measles, and had a mild fever for a few days before suffering convulsions after growing increasingly lethargic. She quickly became unconscious and was rushed to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where she died the next day. Neal recalled that a doctor rang to abruptly tell her that Olivia was dead, and she "couldn't believe how cold he was". Neal later regretted not seeing Olivia after her death, having been persuaded not to by her sisters-in-law. According to Neal, her husband "really almost went crazy" with Neal keeping the family together for the sake of their two other children. Neal's grief was helped by talking about Olivia, whereas Roald kept silent about her until his own death.