Dan Brown facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Brown
Born	Daniel Gerhard Brown (1964-06-22) June 22, 1964 (age 61) Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist
Alma mater	Amherst College (BA)
Genre	Thriller, adventure, mystery, conspiracy
Notable works	Digital Fortress Deception Point Angels & Demons The Da Vinci Code The Lost Symbol Inferno Origin
Spouse	Blythe Newlon ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2019)​
Relatives	Gregory W. Brown (brother)
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Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author. He is famous for his exciting thriller novels. Many of his books feature a character named Robert Langdon. These include Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013), and Origin (2017). His newest book, The Secret of Secrets, was released in 2025.

Brown's novels are like treasure hunts. They usually happen over just one day. They often involve secret codes, art, and big mysteries. His books have been translated into 57 languages. By 2012, over 200 million copies had been sold worldwide.

Some of his books have been made into movies. These are Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and Inferno. The Lost Symbol was made into a TV series. Brown's Robert Langdon books often explore Christian themes and history. He says his books are not against Christianity. He sees them as a way to encourage people to think about their own beliefs.

Early Life and Education

Daniel Gerhard Brown was born on June 22, 1964, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He has a younger sister, Valerie, and a brother, Gregory. Dan grew up on the campus of Phillips Exeter Academy. His father was a math teacher there. His mother was a church organist and studied sacred music.

Brown was raised in the Episcopalian church. He once asked a minister about science and religion. He wondered if the Big Bang or the Bible's creation story was right. He was told, "Nice boys don't ask that question." This made him feel that science made more sense to him at the time.

Later, Brown realized that science and spirituality could connect. He found that the deeper you go into science, the more mysterious things become. He saw an "order and a spiritual aspect to science."

Childhood Puzzles and Treasure Hunts

Brown's interest in secrets and puzzles started when he was a child. His parents, a math teacher and a musician, often used codes. Young Dan loved solving anagrams and crossword puzzles. He and his siblings went on amazing treasure hunts. Their father would create maps with clues and codes.

For example, on Christmas, they wouldn't find gifts under the tree. Instead, they followed a treasure map. The map led them through their house and even around town to find their presents. This special relationship with his father inspired parts of his book The Da Vinci Code.

After high school, Brown went to Amherst College. He studied English and Spanish. He also played squash and sang in the glee club. In 1985, he spent a year studying art history in Seville, Spain. He graduated from Amherst in 1986.

Dan Brown's Career Journey

Music and Early Creative Works

After college, Brown tried a career in music. He made a children's cassette called SynthAnimals. It had songs like "Happy Frogs." He also released a CD for adults called Perspective. In 1991, he moved to Hollywood to become a singer-songwriter. He taught at a school to support himself.

He met his future wife, Blythe Newlon, at the National Academy of Songwriters. She helped him promote his music. They married in 1997. In 1994, Brown released a CD called Angels & Demons. The artwork for this CD later inspired his novel of the same name.

Brown and Blythe moved to Rye, New Hampshire, in 1993. He taught English at Phillips Exeter and Spanish at a small school. Brown also wrote a symphonic work called Wild Symphony. It comes with a book illustrated by Susan Batori. The book has simple ambigrams for kids. An app plays music that goes with the pictures. In 2022, it was announced that Wild Symphony would become an animated movie.

Becoming a Bestselling Author

In 1993, while on vacation, Brown read a thriller novel. It inspired him to write his own thrillers. He started his first novel, Digital Fortress, which was published in 1998. He also co-wrote a humor book with his wife.

In 1996, Brown stopped teaching to write full-time. His wife, Blythe, helped a lot with promoting his books. He then wrote Angels & Demons (2000) and Deception Point (2001). Angels & Demons was the first book to feature his famous character, Robert Langdon.

Brown's first three novels were not very successful at first. But his fourth novel, The Da Vinci Code, changed everything. It became a huge bestseller in 2003. It quickly reached the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. By 2009, it had sold 81 million copies worldwide. This success also boosted sales of his earlier books.

In 2004, all four of his novels were on the New York Times list at the same time. Time magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2005. Forbes magazine estimated his income at $76.5 million that year.

Later Novels and Inspirations

Brown's third Robert Langdon novel, The Lost Symbol, came out in 2009. It sold over one million copies on its first day. The story takes place in Washington D.C. and involves the Freemasons. Puzzles hidden in The Da Vinci Code book jacket hinted at this sequel.

His fourth Robert Langdon novel, Inferno, was released in 2013. It was No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for 11 weeks. Brown has said he has ideas for about 12 more Robert Langdon books.

Many characters in Brown's books are named after real people in his life. Robert Langdon is named after artist John Langdon. His editor, Jonas Faukman, is named after his real editor, Jason Kaufman.

Brown's wife, Blythe, is an art historian. She did a lot of research for his books. His seventh book, Origin, was published in 2017. It is the fifth book in the Robert Langdon series.

Influences on His Writing

Dan Brown has been open about the writers who inspire him. He likes to include certain things in his novels:

• A simple hero who is pulled into a new, unfamiliar world.
• An interesting female helper or love interest.
• Travel to foreign places.
• Danger from a villain who is chasing the hero.
• Villains who have a disability or a genetic condition.
• The entire story happening within a 24-hour period.

Brown is also influenced by Joseph Campbell, who wrote about myths and religion. Brown based the character of Robert Langdon on Campbell. Director Alfred Hitchcock is another influence. Like Hitchcock, Brown uses suspenseful plots. His stories often feature an innocent man being chased by enemies. They are set in glamorous foreign places and famous tourist spots.

Brown writes in his loft. He uses inversion therapy to help with writer's block. He hangs upside down, which he says helps him solve plot problems by changing his perspective.

Charity Work and Personal Life

Dan Brown and his family have given money to good causes. In 2004, he and his siblings donated $2.2 million to Phillips Exeter Academy. This helped create a fund for computers and tech equipment for students who need it. In 2011, Dan and Blythe created a scholarship fund at Amherst College. It helps students interested in writing. In 2016, Brown donated $337,000 to a library in Amsterdam. This money helped digitize old books.

Brown and his wife, Blythe Newlon, divorced in 2019 after 21 years of marriage.

Book to Screen Adaptations

Many of Dan Brown's popular novels have been made into movies or TV shows.

• The Da Vinci Code was released as a film in 2006. Ron Howard directed it, and it starred Tom Hanks. It was a very popular movie, earning $750 million worldwide.
• The next film, Angels & Demons, came out in 2009. Ron Howard directed it again, and Tom Hanks returned as Robert Langdon.
• Filmmakers also wanted to adapt The Lost Symbol. However, in 2013, Sony Pictures decided to adapt Inferno instead. Inferno was released in 2016, again with Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring.
• In 2014, it was announced that Digital Fortress would become a TV series.
• In 2021, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was adapted into a television series. It showed the early life of Robert Langdon. The series was available on the streaming service Peacock for one season.

See also

In Spanish: Dan Brown para niños