July 31:

J K RowlingJoanne Rowling is born to Peter and Ann Rowling in the British town of Chipping Sodbury. She has no middle initial.

(Much later, Rowling decides that July 31st is also Harry Potter's birthday.)

1990

While stuck on a delayed train between Manchester and London, Rowling gets the idea for Harry Potter. She begins writing his story that night.

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December 30:

After a 10-year battle with multiple sclerosis, Rowling's mother dies. This later affects the tone of the Potter books: "Harry's feelings about his dead parents had become much deeper, much more real."

1992

October 16:

Rowling—now teaching English as a second language in Portugalmarries TV journalist Jorge Arantes.

1993

July 27:

Rowling and Arantes have a daughter, Jessica Rowling Arantes.

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1994

Late November:

Now separated from her husband (they divorce in 1995), Rowling moves near her younger sister, Di, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She takes along her daughter and her ever-growing book manuscript.

1995

Writing whenever she can, often in cafés, Rowling finishes her first book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Her literary agent warns her "You do realize, you will never make a fortune out of writing children's books?"

1996

Several publishers reject the book, finding it to be too long and slow for children.

October:

British publisher Bloomsbury Press accepts the book, giving Rowling a $4,000 advance.

1997

Spring:

Scholastic Books wins an auction for the U.S. rights to the series, giving Rowling an advance over $100,000, a record for a foreign children's book. She is able to quit her teaching job and devote her time to writing.

June 26:

The first book in the series—Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone—is published in the United Kingdom. The first print run is 500 copies. Because Bloomsbury is afraid that young boys won't want to read a book by a woman, they suggest she use her initials. Joanne adds her grandmother's name, Kathleen, to her own, producing "J.K. Rowling."

The book is an instant success, selling well and winning several awards.

1998

July 2:

The second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is published in the United Kingdom, with a first print run of over 10,000 copies.

September 1:

Harry Potter Book 1Scholastic publishes the first book, renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in the United States. The changes go beyond the title: illustrations are added to the start of each chapter, and British spelling, punctuation, grammar, and vocabulary are translated into American English. The first print run is 50,000 copies.

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1999

June 2:

Harry Potter Book 2Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is published in the United States, with an initial printing of 250,000 copies. The U.S. release had been scheduled for September, but Scholastic discovered that impatient fans of the first book were ordering copies of the sequel from the U.K. At 341 pages, this is only slightly longer than the 309-page first book. It shoots to the top of bestseller lists.

July 8:

The third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is published in the United Kingdom. It sells more than 68,000 copies in the first two days.

September 8:

Harry Potter Book 3The third book is published in the United States, again ahead of schedule, with a first printing of 500,000 copies. This one is 448 pages. The Harry Potter books hold the top three positions on the New York Times bestseller list.

November:

Nancy Stouffer, author of the 1984 book The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, has been publicly claiming that Rowling stole ideas from her. In Stouffer's book, muggles are little people who care for orphans; the book also includes a character named Larry Potter. Scholastic and Warner Bros. (who have the film rights to the series) sue her, wanting a judge to rule that there was no violation of Stouffer's copyright or trademark.

2000

March:

Nancy Stouffer countersues, claiming that Rowling did steal her ideas.

March 28:

Chris Columbus is chosen as the director for the first Harry Potter film.

August 21:

After a long search, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are chosen to play Harry, Hermione, and Ron on film.

July 8:

Harry Potter Book 4The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is published in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with a record-setting combined first printing of more than 5 million copies. This is the first time the book is released at the same time in both countries, and the first time it's released on Saturday, so that children can get and read the book as soon as it comes out without skipping school. Both these practices are followed for every book that follows.

This book is much longer (734 pages!) and darker than any of the previous books in the series, leading some critics to predict that the Harry Potter fad will end here.

July 23:

Up until now, the available Harry Potter books have been at or near the top of the New York Times list of bestsellers. Beginning this week (the first one in which Goblet of Fire appears), children's books have a list of their own, to keep them from competing with more grown-up titles.

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2001

March 12:

Two schoolbooks from Harry's worldFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Agesare released. All the profits go to Comic Relief, a British charity.

November 16:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone Movie PosterThe first film is released, opening on a record 3,762 screens in the U.S. alone. On opening weekend, it grosses $90 million in America and £16 million in the U.K., setting records in both countries.

A few scenes have been filmed twice, so that characters talk about the "Sorcerer's Stone" in the American version and "Philosopher's Stone" in the British version.

December 26:

Rowling marries anesthesiologist Neil Murray.

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2002

September:

The court deciding the lawsuits involving Nancy Stouffer rules in favor of Rowling, saying that there is no reasonable possibility of confusion between the books. Stouffer is found to have lied to the court and forged documents to support her case, and is required to pay a fine and some of her opponents' legal fees. Stouffer appeals the ruling.

October 25:

Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the movies, dies. This does not affect the second film, which has already been completed.

November 15:

The second film, once again directed by Chris Columbus, opens. On opening weekend, this one makes $88 million in America, for the third-largest opening (behind the first film and Spider-Man), and almost £19 million in the U.K., setting another record.

2003

March 23:

Rowling gives birth to her second child, David Gordon Rowling Murray.

June 21:

Harry Potter Book 5The fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is released. The first printing is 6.4 million copies in the U.S. alonethe most ever, by a wide margin. At 870 pages, this is the longest book in the series, about three times the size of the first volume.

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2004

January:

A higher court rejects Stouffer's appeal, and orders her to pay the court costs.

May 31:

The third film opens in the United Kingdom, taking in £5.3 million in one day, and £23.9 million on opening weekend; both are records. It opens four days later in the United States, grossing $93.7 million, for the third-best opening weekend (this time behind Spider-Man and Shrek 2.) There's a new director, Alfonso Cuarón, and Michael Gambon takes over the role of Dumbledore.

2005

January 23:

Rowling gives birth to her third child, Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.

July 16:

Harry Potter Book 6The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, is released. It's 672 pages long, making this the first book in the series to be shorter than the one before it. The U.S. first printing is a record-shattering 10.8 million copies. In another first, Braille and large-print editions are released on the same day as the other editions.

November 18:

The fourth film is released. This time, the director is Mike Newell. It has biggest opening weekend of any Harry Potter film, taking in $101.4 million in the U.S. and £14.9 million in the U.K.

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2006

February 1:

Harry PotterThe publication date for the seventh and final Harry Potter book is announced to be July 21, 2007 at 12:01 A.M. The title of the book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and Rowling states that two charachters will die, leading fans to speculate that Harry is one of them.

November 17:

Harry PotterThe first trailer for the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released. The movie's release date is set for Wednesday, July 11th in the US. Michael Goldenberg replaces Stever Kloves as screenwriter, a position Kloves had held for the previous four films.

2007

May 31:

Warner Brothers Entertainment and Universal Orlando Resort announce plans to create "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" at the Florida amusement park. The attraction is described as a "theme park within a theme park," and will include full -scale models of the spots made famous by the popular books and movies. The park is set to open in 2009.

July 11:

The film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix opens in theaters around the world. In its first weekend, it earns $330 million, including $77.4 million in the U.S. The film has the most successful opening of any of the Harry Potter movies and breaks the record for biggest non-holiday five day opening, taking in $140 million in the U.S. Read more about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film.

July 21:

The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is set to be released worldwide. Read a preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

 

 

 


 

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

http://www.infoplease.com/entertainment/books/harry-potter-timeline.html

 


 

Other interesting biographies : [Next] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

 

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