Saturday, July 31, 2010
Why did J.K. Rowling choose July 31 as Harry Potter's birthday? J.K. Rowling chose to share her own birthday with her most famous creation, Harry Potter. Harry celebrated his 11th birthday when he first burst onto the scene in 1997 in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (aka Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US). Rowling was unemployed and living off public assistance when she wrote the first book in the series. The books were such a hit that within a few years Rowling became one of England's richest women and one of the world's most successful writers. After she finished her seven-volume series about the young wizard and his friends, Rowling went on to write a collection of fairy tales, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which had originally been mentioned as a fictional book in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series. Happy 45th birthday to the writer who enticed millions of children and adults to read.
|
|
J.K. Rowling
|
Get Today's Highlights by email:
X
|
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Today's Birthdays:
- Henri Brisson (1835-1912): two-time premier of France
- Milton Friedman (1912-2006): Nobel Prize winner for Economics
- Primo Levi (1919-1987): Italian chemist who wrote of his experiences during the Holocaust
- Evonne Goolagong Cawley (59): tennis champ
- Will Champion (32): rocker, Coldplay; also, musicians Kenny Burrell (79), Lobo (67), Gary Lewis (65), Michael Wolff (58), Bill Berry (52), Fatboy Slim (47) and Jim Corr (46)
- B.J. Novak (31): comic writer/actor, The Office; also, actors France Nuyen (71), Susan Flannery (67), Geraldine Chaplin (66), Richard Griffiths (63), Barry Van Dyke (59), Michael Biehn (54), Wesley Snipes (48), Dean Cain (44), Ben Chaplin (40) and Annie Parisse (35)
Powered by eSpindle.com
Spelling bee
|
| K2 |
Today in History:
- Trinidad: island in the Caribbean was discovered by Christopher Columbus (1498)
- Samuel Hopkins: received the first US patent for a process of making fertilizer (1790)
- Christchurch: became the first New Zealand city to be chartered (1856)
- NYSE: closed due to the outbreak of World War I, but opened again four months later to help the war effort by selling bonds (1914)
- K2: the world's second-highest peak, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen, was summited for the first time, by an Italian team (1954)
Word of the Day:
malversation
(mal-vuhr-SAY-shuhn)
noun
Corrupt behavior in public office.
Etymology
From Middle French malversation, from malverser (to embezzle), from Latin maleversari (to behave badly), from male (ill) + versari (to behave), from vertere (to turn). Ultimately from Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend) that is also the source of words such as wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, and universe
Usage
"[Ramon Magsaysay] called for inquiries into the alleged malversation of the Motor Vehicles Users Charge and the reported overpricing of the project." — Rome C. Jorge; Senator Proposes Reforms; The Manila Times (Philippines); Jul 22, 2005.
— Weekly word roundup: random selection from our collection(© Wordsmith Words)
noun
Corrupt behavior in public office.
Etymology
From Middle French malversation, from malverser (to embezzle), from Latin maleversari (to behave badly), from male (ill) + versari (to behave), from vertere (to turn). Ultimately from Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend) that is also the source of words such as wring, weird, writhe, worth, revert, and universe
Usage
"[Ramon Magsaysay] called for inquiries into the alleged malversation of the Motor Vehicles Users Charge and the reported overpricing of the project." — Rome C. Jorge; Senator Proposes Reforms; The Manila Times (Philippines); Jul 22, 2005.
— Weekly word roundup: random selection from our collection
Copyright © 2010 Answers Corporation 
