Salman Rushdie Fast Facts

CNN

15-07-2025

Here's a look at the life of Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie.
Birth date: June 19, 1947
Birth place: Bombay (now Mumbai), India
Birth name: Ahmed Salman Rushdie
Father: Anis Ahmed Rushdie, businessman
Mother: Negin Rushdie, teacher
Marriages: Rachel Eliza Griffiths (2021-Present); Padma Lakshmi (2004-2007, divorced); Elizabeth West (1997-2004, divorced); Marianne Wiggins (1988-1993, divorced); Clarissa Luard (1976-1987, divorced)
Children: with Elizabeth West: Milan; with Clarissa Luard: Zafar
Education: King's College, University of Cambridge, graduated in 1968
Rushdie moved to England to attend Rugby School, where he experienced racist taunts and bullying from his classmates.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Rushdie worked intermittently as an advertising copywriter in London.
The 1988 release of Rushdie's book, 'The Satanic Verses,' was met with demonstrations, riots and bans in Muslim-majority countries for perceived blasphemy. Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 calling for the author and everybody who worked on the book to be killed. Ettore Capriolo, an Italian translator of the novel, was stabbed; Hitoshi Igarashi, a Japanese translator of 'The Satanic Verses,' was murdered; and William Nygaard, a Norwegian publisher, was shot and wounded.
Following the 1989 fatwa, Rushdie went into hiding with the assistance of British police and was forced to limit public appearances and restrict his movements for over a decade. Rushdie created an alias for himself, 'Joseph Anton,' an amalgamation composed of two other writer's names: Joseph Conrad and Anton Checkov.
In The Sunday Telegraph, Rushdie has stated that if he had not become a writer, his dream was to be an actor.
1975 - Rushdie's first novel, 'Grimus,' is published.
1981 - Wins the Booker Prize for 'Midnight's Children.'
1983 - 'Shame' is published.
1988 - 'The Satanic Verses' is published.
February 14, 1989 - Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against Rushdie, calling for his murder. Rushdie goes into hiding with the assistance of British police.
1990 - 'Haroun and the Sea of Stories' is published.
1998 - The Iranian government pledges not to seek to carry out the fatwa on Rushdie.
2001 - Rushdie appears as himself in the film 'Bridget Jones's Diary.'
2006 - Joins Emory University's English Department as Distinguished Writer in Residence and begins teaching in 2007.
June 16, 2007 - Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature. Rushdie collects his knighthood on June 25, 2008.
2011-2015 - Serves as University Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University.
2012 - The film adaptation of 'Midnight's Children' premieres.
2016 - Becomes a US citizen but retains British citizenship.
August 12, 2022 - Rushdie is stabbed multiple times onstage before his scheduled lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt, Rushdie suffers three stab wounds to his neck, four stab wounds to his stomach, puncture wounds to his right eye and chest, and a laceration on his right thigh.
August 13, 2022 - Hadi Matar, 24, accused of stabbing Rushdie, pleads not guilty to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges.
October 22, 2022 - According to Rushdie's literary agent Andrew Wylie, in an interview given to Spanish newspaper El País, Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and one of his hands is 'incapacitated' following the August 2022 attack.
October 28, 2022 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces new sanctions on the '15 Khordad Foundation' over the attack of Rushdie.
February 6, 2023 - Rushdie gives an interview to The New Yorker, his first interview since he was severely injured in the 2022 stabbing attack.
February 7, 2023 - Rushdie's 'Victory City' is published, his first book published since the attack. According to his publisher, Rushdie is not participating in a press tour.
May 15, 2023 - In a rare public video message at The British Book Awards, Rushdie warns that freedom of expression is at risk.
April 14, 2024 - Giving his first television interview since he was stabbed, Rushdie tells CBS' '60 Minutes' that he had a 'premonition' of the event just days beforehand.
April 16, 2024 - 'Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,' Rushdie's memoir about the 2022 attack and his recovery, is published.
February 11, 2025 - Rushdie testifies in court against Matar, showing a jury his blinded right eye. On May 16, Matar is found guilty of attempted murder and assault and is sentenced to 25 years in prison.