JK Rowling
Joanne Rowling Life Timeline1965
-July 31- Jo was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England.
1967
-June 28- Her sister Di was born.
1970
-Her and her family moved to Winterbourne, England.
1974
-Her and her family moved to Tutshill, South Wales.
-Her favorite grandmother Kathleen died.
1976
- Attended Wyedean School and College (secondary school) where she met Sean Harris (whom Chamber of Secrets is dedicated to and to whom owned a Ford Anglia).
1980
-Anne Rowling (Jo's mother) was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
1983
-Attended the University of Exeter where she studied French.
1990
-Moved from London to Manchester with her boyfriend at the time.
-After flat hunting in Manchester, she was on a delayed train back to London when the idea of Harry Potter fell into her head. She started to write the first draft of Philosophers stone that night.
-December 30- Her mother died after a 10 year battle with multiple sclerosis
1991
-September or October- Left England and moved to Porto, Portugal where she got a job teaching English. In the first few weeks in Portugal she wrote The Mirror of Erised, a chapter in Philosophers Stone.
1992
-October 16- Married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes.
1993
-July 27- Her first daughter Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes was born.
-September 3- Jo's sister Di married Roger Moore.
-November- Jo and her husband separated.
1994
-December- Her and her daughter Jessica moved to be nearer her sister in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she completed her first novel.
1995
-June 26- Her divorce became final
-Christopher Little Literary Agents agreed to represent Jo in the search for a publisher. The book was rejected by 12 publishing companies.
1996
-August- Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was set to be published by Bloomsbury, after the chairman of the company's daughter liked the book.
1997
-Spring- An auction was held to buy Philosopher's Stone in the US and was sold to Scholastic, Inc. for $105, 000.
-June 26- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury with an initial run of 1,000 (500 of which went to libraries).
-November- Philosopher's Stone won its first award, a Nestle Smarties Book Prize.
1998
-February- Philosopher's Stone won the British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year and later Children's Book Award.
-July 2- The second book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published.
-September 1- Scholastic published Philosopher's Stone under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
-October- Warner Brothers purchased the rights to the first two Harry Potter books to make into films.
1999
-July 8- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (book 3) was published.
-December- Prisoner of Azkaban won the Smarties Prize, making Jo the first person to win the award three times running.
2000
-January- Prisoner of Azkaban won the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year award.
-June- Queen Elizabeth II made Rowling an officer of the Order of the British Empire.
-July- The University of Exeter awarded her with an honorary DLitt degree.
-July 8- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book 4) was released.
2001
-Jo published two books for charity- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages.
-Jo purchased the Killiechassie House in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
-December 26- Jo married Neil Michael Murray in a ceremony at her home.
2002
-The case of Rowling v. Stouffer, where Nancy Stouffer accused JK Rowling of stealing her ideas, was closed. Rowling won.
2003
-March 24- Jo and Neil's son David Gordon Rowling Murray was born.
-June 21- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book 5) was released.
2005
-January 23- Jo and Neil's daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray was born.
-July 16- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released.
2006
-April- An asteroid was named Rowling after her.
-May- A newly found kind of Dinosaur was named Dracorex hogwartsia in her honor.
-June- Was named 'the greatest living British writer' in a poll by The Book Magazine.
-July- She received a Doctor of Laws (LLD) honorary degree from the University of Aberdeen for her "significant contribution to many charitable causes" and "her many contributions to society".
-Jo revealed that she had written a few short stories and another children's book.
-Forbes named her the second-richest female entertainer in the world.
-December 21- The title of the 7th Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, was released on JKRowling.com.
2007
-January 11- Jo finished writing Deathly in her hotel room at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh.
-May- Jo donated $495,000 to a fund to help find Madeleine McCann, a British girl who was kidnapped in Portugal.
-July 20- Jo was presented a a Gold Blue Peter Badge, the highest award given by the tv show Blue Peter.
-July 21- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final Harry Potter book, was released and became the fastest-selling book of all time.
-July 26- Jo said she is currently writing two things, one for children and one for adults.
-She was said to have $1 billion or 545 million Euros by Sunday Times Rich List.
-Forbes has her as the forty-eighth most powerful celebrity of 2007.
-November- Jo stated that she is working on another book- a half finished book for children- that will probably be the next thing she publishes.
-December- Jo writes seven hand written copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, each of which she gives to special people who have been involved in the Harry Potter series. One of the stories is sold off for auction. -December 30- A TV Documentary about Jo entitled "JK Rowling...A Year in the Life" was released for British TV stations, and later stations in the United States.
2008
-March- Jo revealed that her political fairy tale for children was almost completed. -Jo also revealed that she will continue to write for children because it is what she enjoys.
-May- Jo writes an 800 word Harry Potter prequel about James Potter and Sirius Black. This was collected and sold with all profits going to charity.
-June 5- Jo was made a keynote speaker for the Harvard University Commencement. -September- Jo donated 1 Million Pounds to the Labour Party to endorse Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
-December 4- JK Rowling releases The Tales of Beedle the Bard, with a portion going to charity.
-Jo wins the following awards: British Book Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, Edinburgh Award, South Bank Show Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (France), and James Joyce Award
2009
-Jo wins the Legion d'honneur award by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
2010
-June 18- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, based on Jo's stories, is officially opened at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Orlando, FLorida.