When was philosophers stone released

To add further into the Dean Thomas mystery, it wasn't just his name and description that was omitted from the British version of the book. For some reason, they also cut out which house he was sorted into as well.

In the US version, it is stated that he joins Harry in the Gryffindor house, clearly aligning him from the very start. Yet that doesn't happen in the British version, with the entire character being cut from Sorting - which makes things a little more confusing later on, as Dean appears in the book in Harry's year, but was not mentioned alphabetically during the Sorting Ceremony!

This is a fairly small detail, but the sweet, Sherbet Lemons just so happen to be a firm favorite of Professor Dumbledore, which he mentions throughout the franchise. In the British version of the book, the sweet is called a sherbet lemon, which is a hard, sour shaped sweet that has lemon fizzing powder. However, these sweets aren't common in America, and because of that, it was changed to a lemon drop in order for more people to understand what was being discussed when this particular confectionary came up.

Any time a letter is written in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , the font is changed to a different script depending on who is writing the letter.

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , the letters are simply changed to an italic font with no other special fonts used to represent each character. This may have been an issue of practicality, as the publisher may not have wanted to put the extra effort into creating fonts for specific characters for the first book in a series that wasn't guaranteed to be popular. One Hogwarts textbook, in particular, has a different name between the UK and the US version of the book.

Towards the end of the novel, Harry is studying for his finals and looking up the word 'Dittany' in the textbook 1, Magical Herbs and Fungi. Our Favorite On-Screen Witches. Featurette Full Episode Video Hiring Martin Bayfield. The Evolution of Nerds. Greatest Movie Adventures. Photos Top cast Edit. Robbie Coltrane Hagrid as Hagrid.

John Hurt Mr. Ollivander as Mr. Chris Columbus. The 9 Most Surprising Harry Potter Movie Moments If rewatching all eight Harry Potter films feels as daunting as mastering Quidditch, we've got you covered with a guide to the franchise's most surprising moments worth revisiting.

More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. This is the tale of Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe , an ordinary eleven-year-old boy serving as a sort of slave for his aunt and uncle who learns that he is actually a wizard and has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry is snatched away from his mundane existence by Rubeus Hagrid Robbie Coltrane , the groundskeeper for Hogwarts, and quickly thrown into a world completely foreign to both him and the viewer.

Famous for an incident that happened at his birth, Harry makes friends easily at his new school. He soon finds, however, that the wizarding world is far more dangerous for him than he would have imagined, and he quickly learns that not all wizards are ones to be trusted.

Let The Magic Begin. Rated PG for some scary moments and mild language. There he finds not only friends, aerial sports , and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him He lives with the miserable Dursleys and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet beneath the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in ten years.

Then a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger. A letter with an invitation to an incredible place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

There he finds not only friends, flying sports on broomsticks, and magic in everything from classes to meals. Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy - until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch, and does battle in a deadly duel.

The Reason, Harry Potter is a wizard! Vernon is the director of a drill-making firm called Grunnings , and Petunia keeps house and raises their one-year-old son Dudley. On Tuesday, 1 November , the Dursleys begin the day by gossiping about their neighbours while Petunia wrestles the disagreeable Dudley into his high chair.

None of them notice a large tawny owl flying past their window, but Vernon does notice the tabby cat reading a map and a street sign outside their house. He forces himself to forget the cat, but upon arriving in town, he notices large groups of people wearing cloaks. Vernon returns home to find the cat still waiting there, and it only gives him a stern look when he tries to shoo it away. The news is full of unexplained owl sightings and firework displays, and Vernon nervously asks Petunia if she has heard from her sister recently.

Petunia is upset, but she does tell him that she hasn't heard from her sister and that their nephew's name is "Harry. He finds it difficult to fall asleep that night but eventually manages it. After the Dursleys fall asleep, Albus Dumbledore appears in the middle of Privet Drive and siphons away the light from the street lamps with his Deluminator. They discuss the deaths of James and Lily Potter at the hands of Lord Voldemort at the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollow and how their infant son Harry miraculously survived the attack while Voldemort has seemingly died.

Rubeus Hagrid arrives riding a flying motorbike and transporting Harry. He hands him over to Dumbledore, who leaves the sleeping baby and a letter to the Dursleys on the doorstep of Number Four. The three wizards are distraught to leave the orphaned baby with his relatives, but they only give themselves a moment to mourn before they force themselves to leave.

Hagrid says he will return the motorbike to its owner, young Sirius Black ; McGonagall resumes her cat form and slinks around the corner at the other end of the street, and Dumbledore restores the lights to the streetlamps and bids Harry farewell before vanishing without a trace. Harry rolls over inside his bundle of blankets, and his small hand closes on the letter as he sleeps on. Ten years pass since the Dursleys have awoken to find Harry Potter lying on their doorstep, and Privet Drive and the Dursleys' house has not changed since that day.

The only difference is the vast number of pictures of Dudley Dursley throughout his life displayed on the walls. There is no sign that Harry Potter lives there, As Harry is forced to live in the Cupboard Under the Stairs , a very cramped space with a lot of spiders. Petunia comes to Harry's door one morning and wakes him with a shrill voice.

Harry is trying to think about the dream he had been having. It was about a flying motorbike , and he thinks he has had the same dream before. Aunt Petunia tells him to make some bacon, as she wants everything perfect for Dudley's 11th birthday. Harry dresses into a pair of Dudley's old clothes and goes into the kitchen, where the table is covered in Dudley's presents. Harry has jet-black hair and green eyes. His glasses are held together by tape because Dudley has smashed them so many times.

The thing that distinguishes Harry from others the most is the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. He often wonders how he got it and the Dursleys have told him that he got it from the car crash that killed Harry's parents.

Harry doesn't know much more about the accident though because the Dursleys' first rule is to not ask questions. Dudley comes into the kitchen and begins to count his presents, only to find 36, which he angrily recalls is one fewer than the year before. Aunt Petunia states that they are going to buy him two new presents while they are out.

Vernon tells Petunia that their neighbour Arabella Figg , a Squib, has broken her leg and cannot take care of Harry while they are at the zoo.

They can't think of anyone else who can take care of him, so Harry has to go with them. Dudley is allowed to take a friend to the zoo and chooses his friend Piers Polkiss. Piers comes to the house with his mother. On the way, a motorbike overtakes them and Vernon complains about them. Harry remarks that he had a dream about a flying motorbike once and Vernon snappily reminds him that motorbikes do not fly.

Harry thinks about all the strange things that have happened to him: He once turned his teacher's wig blue, jumped onto the school chimney, and grew all of his hair back the morning after a haircut. At the zoo, Dudley and Piers find the animals boring. Harry is left to watch a Boa constrictor as it sleeps and, when Dudley tries to make it move, it wakes up but still doesn't move.

The snake begins to move after Dudley and Piers slink away. Moments later, Harry speaks to the snake and finds that it miraculously understands him. Piers calls Dudley and Vernon back to the snake's exhibit upon realising that it is now moving. Dudley pushes Harry out of the way he lands 'hard on the concrete floor' , and presses his face against the glass. Harry becomes angry and somehow the glass vanishes and the snake gets out scaring Dudley and Piers.

As the snake slithers away, Harry thinks that he hears it speak back to him. Piers tattletales on Harry that he had been talking to the snake and Uncle Vernon sends him to his cupboard —with no meals for a week as cruel punishment. Ever since the boa constrictor escaped from the zoo, Harry was locked in his cupboard for the longest time ever. When Harry is finally allowed out, it's the beginning of the summer holidays.

Even though he is not at school, Harry still can't escape Dudley and his gang , who regularly visit the house. To keep out of their way, Harry usually wanders around Privet Drive. One day during the summer, Harry is told to get the post for Uncle Vernon. When Harry goes to get the mail, there are three letters: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister , who is on holiday in the Isle of Wight, a letter that looks like a bill, and a letter for Harry.

Harry takes the letter, studies the yellow parchment it is made of, then reads the address:. The Cupboard Under the Stairs. Harry can't believe it. He has never had a letter in his life. Harry returns to the kitchen and gives Uncle Vernon the other two letters as he sits down and starts to open the letter.

Dudley soon sees that Harry has a letter and Uncle Vernon snatches it from him to read with Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon tells Harry and Dudley to get out of the kitchen, so they both go and stand in the hall. The two fight over who gets to look through the keyhole.

Dudley wins, so Harry resorts to looking through the gap between the floor and the door. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia are discussing the seal on the back. Uncle Vernon says that they should just ignore it. Later, when Harry is in his cupboard, Uncle Vernon comes in and says that he has burned the letter, and that they are moving him up to Dudley's second bedroom. Slightly surprised, Harry moves all of his things up to the bedroom, wishing he had his letter. The next morning at breakfast, Dudley is asked to get the post by Uncle Vernon.

After banging things all the way down the hall with his Smeltings stick, Dudley calls out that there is another letter addressed to Harry, this time in '''The Smallest Bedroom''', rather than '''The Cupboard Under the Stairs'''. Both Harry and Uncle Vernon rush to the hallway in an attempt to get the letter. After a minute of confused fighting, Uncle Vernon emerges clutching the letter in his hand.

Determined to see what his letter says, Harry creeps down the stairs early the next morning and approaches the door. He is going to camp there until the post arrives, then he will finally get to read his letter. When he reaches the door, however, he stands on Uncle Vernon - who had the very same idea. Every day, letters appear addressed to Harry, and they are doubling in number. Eventually, there are so many letters arriving that Uncle Vernon resorts to nailing shut the letterbox.

But they begin to appear in the strangest of places: under the door, squeezed through the window, and Aunt Petunia even finds some while cracking open eggs. Finally, they get attacked by thirty or forty letters being fired out of the fireplace.

Despite the sender's efforts, Harry still does not manage to get his hands on one of the letters for long enough to read it and a furious Uncle Vernon states that they are leaving the house. They get into their car and leave ten minutes later. They travel for miles until they eventually stop in front of a gloomy hotel on the brink of the city.

Vernon's attempt to shake the sender off are not successful, however, as more letters come for Harry to the hotel the very next morning. Again, they get back in the car and finally stop to get on a boat that takes them to an island with a small hut on it. Harry remembers that the next day will be his eleventh birthday. When they get there, Harry can't sleep with the raging storm outside, so he counts down the time until his birthday. When his watch turns to the next day, there is a loud knocking at the door - something wants to get in There is another loud boom on the door and Dudley wakes up, thinking it is a cannon.

Uncle Vernon comes through with a rifle, with Aunt Petunia cowering behind him. The door is blasted off its hinges and hits the floor. A giant enters and fixes the door into its frame. The giant asks for a cup of coffee then sits on the couch next to Dudley, scaring him away to hide behind Aunt Petunia.

The giant turns his eyes to Harry and greets him, saying he hasn't seen him since he was a baby. He says Harry looks like his father but has his mother 's eyes. Uncle Vernon tells him to leave but the giant merely grabs the gun, ties into a knot and throws it away. The giant presents Harry with a birthday cake. Hagrid makes a fire and cooks some sausages, but is shocked that Harry knows nothing about Hogwarts. He gets angry at the Dursleys for not telling him anything about his parents' world, his world.

Harry has no idea what's going on. Hagrid tells Harry his parents are famous and that he's a wizard , despite Uncle Vernon forbidding him to. Hagrid gives Harry the letter that he has been craving for.

It tells him that he has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that term begins on 1st September.

Hagrid takes out parchment and a quill and writes a letter to Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore , explaining he has given Harry the letter. Uncle Vernon tells Hagrid that Harry won't be going, but the giant knows that a great Muggle like him wouldn't be able to stop Harry from going to Hogwarts. Uncle Vernon reveals he knew that Harry's a wizard, and Aunt Petunia tells Harry that her sister, Harry's mother, was a witch. Petunia said they were killed by another wizard and Harry screams that Petunia said they got killed in a car crash.

Hagrid is as outraged as Harry is that the Dursleys have lied that much. But the spell he used backfired, only leaving Harry his scar. Hagrid tells him that he brought Harry from the ruins of the house and brought him to the Dursleys' house on 4 Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon says it's a load of rubbish and tries to persuade Harry that whatever happened to his parents was deserved anyway, but Hagrid pulls an umbrella out of his coat and threatens Uncle Vernon.

Harry asks what happened to Voldemort and Hagrid tells him he vanished and hasn't been seen since. Harry doubts that he is a wizard until Hagrid asks him if he ever made anything happen he couldn't explain when he was angry or scared. Uncle Vernon makes the mistake of mocking Dumbledore and Hagrid swishes the umbrella, in Dudley's direction, and Dudley sprouts a curly pig's tail.

Hagrid asks Harry not to mention it at Hogwarts because Hagrid isn't allowed to do magic since he was expelled. Hagrid takes off his coat and Harry sleeps under it for the rest of the night, waiting for the day ahead. When Harry wakes the next morning, he tries to tell himself that what happened the previous night had all been a dream and that Hagrid taking him to a school for Wizards called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had never happened.

But when he opens his eyes, Hagrid had fallen asleep on the couch and he finds that it has all happened. He hears a tapping noise coming from the window and lets in an Owl. Kennedy was concerned at the advances being made by the communist Viet Cong, but did not want to become involved in a land war in Vietnam. He hoped that the On November 16, , Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, springs a trap on the Incan emperor, Atahualpa.

Did the young Austrian nun named Maria really take to the hills surrounding Salzburg to sing spontaneously of her love of music? Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. On November 16, , a Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for his allegedly antigovernment activities linked to a radical intellectual group.

His execution is stayed at the last minute. His grave robbing, necrophilia and cannibalism gained national attention, and may have provided inspiration for the characters of Norman Bates in Psycho and serial killer Buffalo Bill in In a move that stirs up some controversy, as part of "Operation Paperclip," the United States ships 88 German scientists to America to assist the nation in its production of rocket technology.