MuggleNet | The Decade in Review (1997

June 1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom. Today, over 107 million copies of the story have been sold worldwide.

July 1997 - Philosopher's Stone receives a raving review from The Scotsman, who describes it as "an unassailable stand for the power of fresh innovative story-telling in the face of formula horror and sickly romance."

July 1998 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is published in the United Kingdom. The book skyrockets straight to the number one spot on the BookTrack bestseller list.

October 1998 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is published by Scholastic in the United States. JK Rowling received $105,000 from Scholastic to receive the American rights. This was very rare for an unknown (at the time) author.

October 1998 - Warner Brother secures the rights to the first two Potter books and begins working on production for the first film, Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. JK Rowling was quoted as saying, "I think Warner Bros will do a good job and be true to the character. Other children's films they have produced helped sway me."

June 1999 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is published in the United States.

July 1999 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is published in the United Kingdom.

September 1999 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is published in the United States.

October 1999 - MuggleNet.com opens its doors as one of first fansites dedicated to Harry Potter. To this day the website, founded by then 12-year-old Emerson Spartz, is still the most visited Potter fansite online.

October 1999 - JK Rowling begins a 3-week book tour of the United States where she promotes Prisoner of Azkaban and meets with fans. Each tour stop is packed with attendees, and the first sign of a huge upcoming fandom appears.

March 2000 - Chris Columbus is chosen as director of Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone. Of note, Steven Spielberg was interested but did not get the spot.

July 2000 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released in the United States and the United Kingdom simultaneously (July 8th). It was the first Potter book to be released in the US and UK on the same day.

July 2000 - The-Leaky-Cauldron.org and HP-Lexicon.org open their doors as a Harry Potter news site and encyclopedia, respectively.

August 2000 - Warner Brothers announces that Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint will be portraying the characters of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in the first Potter film. At the time, the trio are only 11 - 12 years old.

October 2000 - Production begins on the film version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.

March 2001 - Two schoolbooks from Harry's world-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages-are released. All the profits go to Comic Relief, a British charity.

November 2001 - The first film is released, opening on a record 3,762 screens in the U.S. alone. On opening weekend, it grosses $90 million in America and £16 million in the U.K., setting records in both countries.

June 2002 - The musical genre of Wizard Rock is born when Harry and the Potters, a band consisting of two brothers from Massachusetts, is created. Since then, hundreds of new Wizard Rock bands have sprouted up. All of the bands write music centered around Harry Potter themes.

October 2002 - The Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator, more affectionately known as HPANA, opened online. Still running today, it's primary purpose is to automatically gather Harry Potter news from all over the internet.

October 2002 - Richard Harris, the actor who played Albus Dumbledore in the first two Potter films, dies of Hodgkin's disease. His role as Dumbledore is replaced a few months later by Michael Gambon.

November 2002 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is released in theatres worldwide. It goes on to make a total of $879 million globally.

April 2003 - The Scotsman reports that JK Rowling is now richer than the Queen of England.

March 2003 - The word "muggle" is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, thanks to Potter's popularity.

March 2003 - The cover art for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released in the United States and United Kingdom. It was the first cover to create lots of hype in the Harry Potter fandom, because at that point fansites were flourishing.

June 2003 - CBBC Newsround reports that 7,000 copies of Order of the Phoenix are stolen prior to its release, sparking controversy over the security of the books and the likelihood of a spoiler leak.

June 2003 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released in the United States and the United Kingdom, with midnight release parties being held around the world.

March 2004 - USA Today names JK Rowing the most successful author of the decade.

April 2004 - JK Rowling revamps her website, fomerly a boring list of publishers. It features lots of new information about the book, a Wizard of the Month, hidden easter eggs, and much more.

June 2004 - On her official website, JK Rowling reveals the title to Book 6. It was the original working title of Chamber of Secrets. This, after a huge rumor circulated around the web that presented some very believable evidence of another title.

March 2005 - Scholastic and Bloomsbury release the cover art for Half-Blood Prince, which is met with lots of hype.

July 2005 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is release in the United States and the United Kingdom. Within two months, over 11 million copies are sold.

August 2005 - MuggleCast, MuggleNet's Harry Potter podcast, releases its first episode to the world. It was the very first weekly podcast dedicated to Harry Potter to hit the internet. Visitors to MuggleNet fell in love with the idea of a Harry Potter talk show, and there spawned a new part of the Potter fandom. Soon after, several other Harry Potter podcasts followed.

September 2005 - Apple releases a Harry Potter special-edition iPod, which features the Hogwarts crest engraved on the back. The Harry Potter audiobooks are also put up for sale on iTunes, marking the first time they are available for digital download.

October 2005 - The Christopher Little Agency announces that over 300 million copies of Harry Potter have been sold worldwide.

November 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is released in theatres in the United States and United Kingdom. It goes on to gross $400 million worldwide.

August 2006 - JK Rowling holds first charity reading alongside Stephen King and John Irving in New York City. It features all three special authors reading selections from their book, along with question and answer sessions.

August 2006 - Goblet of Fire is released on HD DVD, and it is the first of the Potter movies to become available in a high defintion format.

August 2006 - Dan Radcliffe announces that he will be making his theater debut in Equus, playing the leading role as a boy who has an abnormal obsession with horses. It is the first and currently only time any of the trio will be in a stage play.

October 2006 - It is revealed that JK Rowling has signed a letter of intent for a Potter theme park, stating that initial planning can commence. Shortly after this news began to spread, this rumor is deemed false. In hindsight, this could have been a cover-up to conceal the official announcement for 2007.

December 2006 - An early Christmas present is received from JK Rowling, when fans find the title to Book 7 on the author's official website.

March 2007 - Warner Brothers announces that Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all been signed for the final two Potter films. This comes as a relief to Potter fans, who have heard lots of mixed thoughts from the trio on completing the series.

March 2007 - Scholastic and Bloomsbury release the cover art for the United States and United Kingdom versions of Deathly Hallows. Fans, as well as podcasts for the first time, begin to speculate as to what the three covers released at the time mean.

May 2007 - Universal and Warner Brothers announce plans for a Harry Potter theme park within Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Along with pictures, Universal says fans can expect the park opening in late 2009 - early 2010.

July 2007 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released in United States and United Kingdom theaters. It grossed $12 million from midnight screenings alone, and broke the first day record of $40.2 million with $44 million.

July 2007 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final novel in Jo's epic seven-part series, is released around the world in English. The book release is met with midnight parties from around the globe and serves as a landmark ending to the Harry Potter series as a whole.

September 2007 - Warner Brothers announces that the Harry Potter film series is the largest grossing film franchise of all time. It surpasses James Bond and Star Wars with a total of $4.47 billion to date. Although some believe this may not be accurate because of inflation, skeptics are reminded that there are still two more films to go.

October 2007 - JK Rowling sues Steve Vander Ark of the HP-Lexicon.org for their upcoming Harry Potter encyclopedia book. Rowling argues she does not approve of companion or encyclopedia books, while Vander Ark argues that his relationship with WB gives him permission to publish. JK Rowling and WB, sueing Steve together, file a restraining order to halt publication of the book until the court trial ends.

October 2007 - JK Rowling makes five stops (Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York twice, and Toronto) on her North American Open Book Tour, where she reads selections of Deathly Hallows to kids and adults alike. Jo signs one copy of a Harry Potter book for each and every book tour attendee.

December 2007 - The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of fairy tales handwritten by JK Rowling, goes on sale at Sotheby's for charity and sells for nearly $4 million. Six other handwritten copies were given to the people who helped Jo closest with Potter.

December 2007 - The documentary "JK Rowling... A Year in the Life" by James Runcie airs on ITV. It is the most in-depth look we have at Jo's life and the long journey to completing Deathly Hallows.

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fan site. Please email us if you have any questions or concerns. MuggleNet's original layouts were designed and created by Navy. All subsequent layouts by Dylan Spartz.

1,032 muggles currently online