J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter novel appeared in the United States in 1998.
Scholastic published the American edition as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on 1 September 1998. The British edition, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, had been published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997.
The title change is one of the best-known differences between the British and American editions. Scholastic changed “Philosopher’s” to “Sorcerer’s” before publication, while the story and characters remained substantially the same.
The American release helped begin the series’ rapid international expansion. Later books were published in many languages and became a major global publishing phenomenon.