After attending Chepstow, and Exeter University, JK Rowling traveled from her first real job in France back to London. On that delayed train she thought of the most marvelous idea she ever had; Harry Potter. After sitting on the train for four long hours, JK Rowling was finally able to get Harry Potter down on paper. That December, 1990, her mother died, from multiple sclerosis. Anne Rowling had been battling the illness for quite some time. After six months of writing the first book, Philosopher's Stone, Rowling's first thoughts changed completely.