Fun Facts About J. K. Rowling
- J. K. Rowling has no middle name: her publisher suggested two initials because they thought boys would not read a book by a woman, so she borrowed K from her grandmother Kathleen.[1]
- Harry, Ron and Hermione came to Rowling on a train from Manchester to London that was delayed by four hours. She had no pen or paper with her.[1]
- Twelve publishers rejected the first Harry Potter book. Bloomsbury bought it after the head of the company saw his eight-year-old daughter read one chapter and want to keep reading.[1]
- Before Harry Potter, Rowling worked for Amnesty International, documenting human rights issues in French-speaking Africa.[1]
- Rowling's crime novel The Cuckoo's Calling sold only 1,500 hardback copies under the pen name Robert Galbraith, a name partly taken from her hero Robert F. Kennedy, before she was unmasked.[1]
- As a child in Winterbourne, Rowling lived near a family called Potter, a name she always liked.[1]
- J. K. Rowling was alive at the same time as Helen Keller — their lives overlapped for 3 years (1965–1968).[1][2][3][4]
- J. K. Rowling and Dmitry Medvedev were both born in 1965.[1][2][5][6]
Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, philanthropist, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for writing Harry Potter, a seven-volume series about a young wizard and the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold. She also writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.[1]
Read more on Wikipedia →Contemporaries
Their World
Questions About J. K. Rowling
When was J. K. Rowling born?
J. K. Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, and is alive today.
How old is J. K. Rowling?
J. K. Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, and turned 61 on July 31, 2026.
What is J. K. Rowling known for?
J. K. Rowling is known for: Author of the Harry Potter series. Joanne Rowling, better known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author, philanthropist, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for writing Harry Potter, a seven-volume series about a young wizard and the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold. She also writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
Who was alive at the same time as J. K. Rowling?
J. K. Rowling's closest contemporary was Noam Chomsky. Their lives overlapped for 61 years.
Sources
- J. K. Rowling — Wikipedia. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0
- J. K. Rowling (Q34660) — Wikidata
- Helen Keller — Wikipedia
- Helen Keller (Q38203) — Wikidata
- Dmitry Medvedev — Wikipedia
- Dmitry Medvedev (Q23530) — Wikidata
- Portrait: J. K. Rowling 2010.jpg — Wikimedia Commons. Daniel Ogren, CC BY 2.0