Robert Jordan

October 17, 1948 - September 16, 2007

Robert Jordan was actually the pen name that James Oliver Rigney, Jr. used for his fantasy novels. Under various pseudonyms, the American author also wrote westerns, historical fiction, and dance criticism. Jordan's claim to fame is the epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina and served two tours in the Vietnam War as a helicopter gunner for the United States Army, receiving a number of awards for his service. He pursued an undergraduate degree in physics from The Citadel and became a nuclear engineer for the United States Navy.

Jordan began writing in 1977, first publishing Conan the Barbarian novels before completing eleven of the fourteen novels comprising The Wheel of Time series. Sadly, tragedy struck in 2006, and Jordan was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis. He passed away in 2007, but lucky for his dedicated fans, Brandon Sanderson was chosen by Tor books to finish the series.

In addition to writing, Jordan was a freemason and a history buff and had numerous hobbies such as fishing, sailing, chess, and pipe collecting. Religion was important to him and he called himself a "High Church" Episcopalian. Jordan is greatly missed, but his legacy lives on in his writing. His fans anxiously await the final novel in the series, A Memory of Light, due for release in January 2013.