Portrait of Harlan Coben

Birthday profile

Harlan Coben

American fiction writer

Born
January 4, 1962
Age in 2026
64
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1962

About Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American writer of mystery and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. Fifteen of his novels have been adapted for film and television. Coben has won an Edgar Award, a Shamus Award, and an Anthony Award—the first author to receive all three. His books have been translated into 46 languages and sold over 90 million copies. In 2025, Coben published his first collaborative co-authored novel, Gone Before Goodbye, with Reese Witherspoon. It was during that time when he wrote his first book, romantic suspense thriller Play Dead, which was accepted for publication when he was 26 and released in 1990. Tell No One, his first stand-alone thriller since the creation of the Myron Bolitar series in 1995, was published in 2001.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Harlan Coben timeline

  1. It was during that time when he wrote his first book, romantic suspense thriller Play Dead, which was accepted for publication when he was 26 and released in 1990.
  2. Tell No One, his first stand-alone thriller since the creation of the Myron Bolitar series in 1995, was published in 2001.
  3. In 2025, Coben published his first collaborative co-authored novel, Gone Before Goodbye, with Reese Witherspoon.

The world when Harlan Coben was born

Harlan Coben was born in 1962. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1962

  • #1 song"I Can't Stop Loving You" – Ray Charles
  • Top movieLawrence of Arabia
  • Top TV showThe Beverly Hillbillies
  • Best-selling bookA Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentWilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single NBA game
  • Top headlineCuban Missile Crisis — world comes closest to nuclear war
  • Technology milestoneJohn Glenn orbits the Earth
  • Defining fadJames Bond mania (Dr. No released)
  • Notable inventionLED (light-emitting diode)
  • World population3.14 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderJohn F. Kennedy
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population186.5M

1962 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Harlan Coben's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19622026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,800$435,000
Average income$7,900$67,500
Minimum wage$1.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.70$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population186.5M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.