When was the first Harry Potter book published?

J.K. Rowling began developing the story in 1990 after the idea came to her on a delayed train from Manchester to London. Her manuscript was reportedly rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsbury accepted it, and the first hardback edition was tiny. In 1998 it was published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The series grew to seven books, ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July 2007. With more than 600 million copies sold in over 80 languages, it is the best-selling book series in history.