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American Book of Days

J. K. Rowling's Birthday

Joanne “Jo” Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, in Yate, Gloucestershire, England, the daughter of Peter James Rowling and Anne Volant. She grew up in Winterbourne, and Chepstow, Gwent, England, graduating from Wyedean Comprehensive. Rowling then attended Exeter University, graduating with a B.A. in French and classics. She worked at several jobs while also outlining the plots for the Harry Potter series. Rowling married in 1992 and had a child, but she soon divorced from this unhappy relationship and focused on writing the first of her novels. Her manuscript was rejected by nine publishers before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was bought for an advance equivalent to $4,000 and published in 1997. Rowling's name was used in abbreviated form, with an added K. for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother's name, because it was thought that a book for boys would not sell as well with a female author.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was published in 1998, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was published in 1999. By 2000, the first three books had earned $480 million, with more than thirty-five million copies in print. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in 2000, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published in 2003, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out in 2005. Finally, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was published in 2007. The films based on the books were released in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was broken up into two movies, released in 2010 and 2011. The first film earned a record-breaking $93.5 million in the United States during opening weekend alone. The Harry Potter books and movies experienced more sales than any other series in history. In 2004, Rowling was named the first author to become a billionaire, but by 2012, she had lost billionaire status because of her charitable activities and taxes. She founded the Volant Charitable Trust in 2000 and gave substantial funds to multiple sclerosis research (her mother suffered from this disease).

Rowling published supplements to the Harry Potter series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages in 2001 and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in 2007. She also published The Casual Vacancy, an adult novel, in 2012. Rowling published a mystery under the pen name Robert Galbraith, Cuckoo Calling, in 2013 and another of this genre, The Silkworm, in 2014. She also founded a Web site called Pottermore, containing information about the Harry Potter series. Rowling is married to Neil Murray, and they live in Scotland.

J. K. Rowling

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Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"J. K. Rowling's Birthday." American Book of Days,Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=ABD5_0624.
APA 7th
J. K. Rowling's Birthday. American Book of Days,Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=ABD5_0624.
CMOS 17th
"J. K. Rowling's Birthday." American Book of Days,Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=ABD5_0624.