Harry Potter

Harry Potter is the fictional creation of author J.K. Rowling, who first featured him in the 1997 book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (In the U.S., the book was titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.) Potter is a student wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he belongs to the house of Gryffindor, plays the odd broom-riding sport of quidditch and battles the villain Lord Voldemort. Rowling's original book was a smash hit and Potter became an international fad, with parents and children standing in line for the release of sequels. Rowling followed the original with six more books: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). To date, five Harry Potter feature films have been released: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). The films starred Daniel Radcliffe in the role of Harry Potter, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's friends Ron and Hermione, and Tom Felton as arch-rival Draco Malfoy.

Extra credit: Potter's forehead bears a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt... The last Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows, was released with much fanfare at 12:01 am on 21 July 2007... Harry Potter was born in 1980, according to a 'Wizard of the Month' entry on J.K. Rowling's official site.