Were it not for the unreliable nature of trains in her home of England, the world may never have seen or heard of Harry Potter. JK Rowling was working as a secretary for Amnesty International in 1990, when having nothing to do whilst waiting for a delayed train between Manchester and London gave her enough time to imagine Harry's existence. Despite having no previous writing credits to her name, she started putting her ideas to paper, and five years later, the very first Harry Potter book was finished.
Everybody knows the rest of the story; the book series is the biggest selling in history, the movies based on the books have grossed billions of dollars, and Rowling is the first billionaire author ever. Not wanting to be known just for Potter, she penned a series of crime books under a male pseudonym once her wizarding tales were over, and these were also picked up for publication before she was outed as the true talent behind the work. Known for her left-wing views and support of worthy causes, Rowling would be even richer if she didn't give so much money away to charity.