J.K. Rowling's Biography
J.K. Rowling was born on 31 July 1965 in Yate, near Bristol, although some biographies cite her birthplace as nearby Chipping Sodbury.
J.K. Rowling's character Harry Potter was also 'born' on 31 July.
J.K. Rowling's official site, has an excellent autobiography that outlines her upbringing and how she came to write the Harry Potter books.
She graduated in Classics, having switched from modern languages. She had a short first marriage and became a single mother.
For a while she worked at Amnesty International.
J.K. Rowling's initial book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) was to lead to a global phenomenon. Within a few years adults and children alike would be queuing up to get their hands on the latest adventures of Harry and his chums at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Harry Potter books have sold in their hundreds of millions and have been translated into over 60 languages.
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published on 21 July 2007.
According to the BBC, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows "was released in 93 countries, with a print run of 12 million in the US alone and more than 2.2 million ordered in advance from internet retailer Amazon."
J.K. Rowling's second husband is Neil Murray.
In 2010 JK Rowling donated £10m to the University of Edinburgh to set up a multiple sclerosis research clinic.
Below is a fascinating speech by J.K. Rowling on the benefits of failure and of using your imagination.
J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.
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