Born in July 1965, Joanne “Jo” Rowling grew up in Gloucestershire with parents Peter and Anne Rowling. The oldest child, Rowling grew up in cozy villages where she discovered her love of writing.

Of course, the author obviously best-known for having written the Harry Potter books.

Sure there are all sorts of fun facts about Harry Potter and the wizarding world, but did you know that there’s plenty of cool trivia about JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, too? See below for some of the most interesting tidbits we could find.

JK Rowling and Harry Potter share the same birthday: July 31st

She wrote her initial HARRY POTTER Ideas on a napkin while on a train to London.

The original HARRY POTTER manuscript was rejected by 12 publishing houses before Bloomsbury picked it up.

JK Rowling was awarded an Order of the British Empire in 2001

She filled five notebook pages with made up “Q” words before she came up with “Quidditch”

Her real name is Joanne Rowling. She has no middle name and instead borrowed the “K” from her grandmother, Kathleen

JK Rowling went from being unemployed to becoming a multi-millionaire in five years

She published her first book for adults, THE CASUAL VACANCY, in 2012

In 2013 she released a crime novel under the pen name “Robert Galbraith”

JK Rowling’s parents met at King’s Cross Station, where Harry takes the Hogwarts Express each year

J.K. Rowling’s Most Inspiring Quotes