Short answers, pulled from the story.
James and John Harper opened their bookshop in New York City in 1817. This venture eventually evolved into Harper & Brothers by 1833 after two more brothers joined the family business.
News Corporation acquired both Harper & Row and William Collins, Sons in 1987. The merger was finalized in 1989, creating HarperCollins as it exists today.
HarperCollins acquired the publishing rights to J. R. R. Tolkien's works in 1990 when it purchased Unwin Hyman. This acquisition brought The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion under its banner.
Ursula Nordstrom served as director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973. She revolutionized children's publishing by championing artists like Maurice Sendak and writers like E. B. White.
HarperCollins signed a licensing agreement with Microsoft in November 2024 to provide book content for training generative AI models. This move made the company the first major book publisher to engage with this technology.