Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney Jr. (1948–2007), an American author best known for the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Army, where he was awarded several decorations for valor. After studying physics at The Citadel, he worked as a nuclear engineer before turning to writing full-time.

Under the pseudonym Reagan O'Neal, he wrote historical fiction, and he also penned several Conan the Barbarian novels, continuing Robert E. Howard's famous character.

In 1990, Jordan launched The Wheel of Time with The Eye of the World, a sweeping saga set in a richly detailed world where time is a wheel and ages come and go. The series grew to include The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, and many more volumes, becoming one of the best-selling fantasy series of all time, with over 90 million copies sold worldwide.

Jordan was working on the final book, A Memory of Light, when he died in 2007. Fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson later completed the concluding volume using Jordan's extensive notes, bringing the beloved series to its conclusion in 2013.