Below, you'll find every (major) event that has happened since the birth of Harry Potter.
| 1965 |
July 31
Joanne Rowling is born to Peter and Ann Rowling. At the time, she has no middle initial.
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| 1990 |
Some Time Before December
While Jo (Joanne Rowling) is on a train from Manchester to London, the idea of a boy wizard,
who she later names Harry Potter, comes to her.
December 30
Jo's mother, who had not been informed about Harry Potter, dies after ten years of fighting a disease.
This affects Harry's feelings about his dead parents as Jo now knew the sensation.
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1995
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Jo, who now has a two-year-old daughter, finishes writing the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Her literary agent (wrongly) warns her how little she can make from writing childrens' books.
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1996
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October
After many publisher's give her the thumbs-down on her book, Bloomsbury Press finally accepts it, giving her a £4,000 advance.
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| 1997 |
Spring
Scholastic Books wins an auction for the rights for Harry Potter in the US, giving Rowling a whopping $100, 000.
June 26
The first Harry Potter book is published in the UK, with an initial print run of 500 copies. Bloomsbury suggests that Rowling uses her initals so that young boys won't be afraid of reading a book by a woman. Rowling uses her grandmother's name for her middle initial, Kathleen.
The book is instantly a best-seller.
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1998
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July 2
JKR writes and publishes the second Harry Potter book (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) in the UK.
September 1
Changing the title from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Scholastic publishes the first Harry Potter book in the US. Illustrations are added, font size is bigger, and grammar is made to suit American spellings.
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1999
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June
The second Harry Potter book is published early in the US. (It was originally scheduled to release in September.)
July
The third Harry Potter book, titled Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is published in the UK. It sells 68,000 copies in just the first two days.
September
Ahead of schedule (again), the third Harry Potter book is published in the US
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2000
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Late March
Chris Columbus is chosen to direct the first Harry Potter film, to be produced by Warner Bros.
July
The fourth Harry Potter book is released in the US and the UK, with a record-setting combined initial print run of 5 million copies. Many are suprised at how much longer this book is than it's predecessors.
August
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson are chosen to play Harry, Ron, and Hermione, respectively.
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2001
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March
Two "schoolbooks" from Harry's world are published with Comic Relief to aid poverts. They imitate Hogwarts books, complete with comedic notes in the margins.
November 16
The first Harry Potter film is released, grossing $90,000,000 in the US and £16,000,000 in the UK, setting records in BOTH countries
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2002
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October 25
Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore during the first and second films, dies. Fortunately, the second movie was already completed.
November
The second film, once again directed by Chris Columbus, is released, making $88,000,000 in the US (third-highest gross, behind SpiderMan and the first film) and £19,000,000 in the UK, setting another record for the UK.
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2003
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June 21
JKR, with another child now, publishes the fifth installment in the Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's the longest book in the series by far, about 3 times the size of the first book. With a 6.4 million copy initial print run in the US alone, it sets another record.
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2004
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May
The third film is made, this time directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Making £5.3 million in just one day in the UK and making £23.9 million on the opening weekend, it sets yet another record. Four days later, in the US, it gains $93.7 million, coming in third - again.
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2005
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July
Sporting a third child, JKR publishes Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the first and only book in the series to be shorter than the one before it. A record-smashing 10.8 million copy initial print run is in place.
November
The fourth film is released. New director, new theme, new records - It becomes the highest-grossing Potter film yet. $101 million in the US on the opening weeked.
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2007
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July 11
The fifth Harry Potter film is released, with a new screenwriter (Mike Newell) and a new director (David Yates) and a new length (really short, compared to the other films).
July 21
The seventh - and final - Harry Potter book is released. Entitled "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", it smashes the records set by the previous books. In the UK, it's exactly the same length as the book before it.
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2008
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November
It used to be the release date of the sixth movie, but alas, WB pushed it back to July, 2009.
December
The Tales of Beedle the Bard will be released. It's another Harry Potter Universe book, like the two released earlier.
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= This page contains plotline points and has spoilers.
