About Robert Jordan
James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), known by his pen name Robert Jordan, was an American author of epic fantasy. He is best known as the author of The Wheel of Time series, which comprises 14 books and a prequel novel. The series is among the highest-selling book series of all time, with 90 million copies sold. In his earlier career he became one of several writers to produce original Conan the Barbarian novels; his are considered by fans to be some of the best written by authors other than the character's creator, Robert E. Howard. Jordan was the most well-known of several pen names he used, adopting different monikers for different genres. == Early life == Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 17, 1948, to James and Eva Rigney (née Grooms). His father James was a World War II veteran and served as a police officer before working at the Charleston Naval Shipyard. He taught himself to read at the age of four years, because his older brother did not finish reading White Fang to him and Jordan "wanted to know what happened," and at five was reading Mark Twain and Jules Verne. He went to Clemson University, where he played football as a lineman, but dropped out after one year and enlisted in the U.S. Army.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.