| James Bigglesworth | |
|---|---|
| Biggles character | |
 Cover of Biggles of 266 | |
| First appearance | "The White Fokker" (1932) |
| Last appearance | Biggles Air Ace: The Uncollected Stories (1999) |
| Created by | W. E. Johns |
| Portrayed by | Neville Whiting Neil Dickson |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | James Bigglesworth |
| Nickname | Biggles |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Family | Charles Bigglesworth (brother) |
| Relatives | Algernon Lacey (cousin) |
| Nationality | English (raised in British India) |
James Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the title character and hero of the Biggles series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns (1893–1968). Biggles made his first appearance in the story "The White Fokker", published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine and again as part of the first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels Are Coming (both 1932). Johns continued to write "Biggles books" until his death in 1968. The series eventually included nearly a hundred volumes – novels as well as short story collections – most of the latter with a common setting and time.
The chronology of the canon, spanning both world wars, set up certain inconsistencies over the unavoidable ageing of Biggles and his friends. Also later editions had to be somewhat edited in line with changing norms of acceptability, especially regarding race, and in view of the pre-teenage readership who increasingly favoured both the books and the comics.