J.K. Rowling is one of the most successful children's literature authors of all time.Scotsman: Rowling candidate for 'modern-day heroes' statue(August 16, 2004) Her series of seven Harry Potter books have sold millions of copies worldwide, making the author herself a billionaire.Forbes: J.K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire(February 26, 2004)

In December 2007 Rowling released her newest work The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The book steams from the Harry Potter series, as some of the history is coveredhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3950967.The_Tales_of_Beedle_the_Bard

In September 2008, Rowling won a lawsuit against the publisher of The Harry Potter Lexicon, a reference book by the author of the online encyclopedia of the same name.Guardian: JK Rowling wins copyright claim over Harry Potter Lexicon (September 8, 2008)

Rowling was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England and attended the University of Exeter for her BA in French and Classics. During a train trip from Manchester to London in 1990, Rowling became inspired to begin writing the first Harry Potter novel. The book was initially rejected by 12 publishing houses before being accepted by Bloomsbury Publishing. The 7th and final book in the series was released in July 2007.

In 1999 Warner Bros. purchased the rights to the first four Harry Potter books from Rowling for nearly 2 million dollars. The first 5 books have all been released as films.

Rowling established the Volant Charitable Trust in 2000, which provides support for women, children, one parent families, and multiple sclerosis research. In 2005, Rowling co-founded the Children's High Level Group (CHLG) to aid children in Eastern Europe. Rowling also sold one of seven handwritten copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard to Amazon.com for over $4 million; proceeds will go to support CHLG.

With a September 8, 2008, court decision, Rowling was able to prevent Michigan's RDR Books from publishing a book based on the online encyclopedia The Harry Potter Lexicon.Guardian: JK Rowling wins copyright claim over Harry Potter Lexicon (September 8, 2008) Steven Vander Ark, the author of the book and manager of the site, was not named in the suit.Guardian: JK Rowling wins copyright claim over Harry Potter Lexicon (September 8, 2008)

• July 31, 1965: Born

• 1990: First thought up the idea for Harry Potter

• 1992: Married Portuguese TV journalist Jorge Arantes

• 1993: Daughter Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes born

• 1995: Divorced Arantes

• 1995: Finished her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

• March 2, 2001: Receives Order of the British Empire

• December, 2001: Married Neil Michael Murray

• 2003: Son David Gordon Rowling Murray born

• 2004: First billion-dollar author

• Note: The links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• 2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

• 2002: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

• 2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

• 2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

• 2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

• 2008: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

• 2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows