born July 31, 1965, Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol, Eng.
British author, creator of the popular and critically acclaimed Harry Potter series.
The first book in the proposed seven-volume series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (U.S. title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ), was published in 1997. Featuring vivid descriptions and an imaginative story line, the book followed the unlikely hero Harry Potter, a lonely orphan who discovers that he is actually a wizard. The book was an immediate success, appealing to both children (its intended audience) and adults. Succeeding volumes
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
were also best-sellers. Rowling was credited with renewing children's interest in reading, and in 2001 she was appointed OBE (Officer of the British Empire).