Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie, an Indian-born British and American novelist, was born on June 19, 1947. His literary work frequently blends magical realism with historical fiction, exploring themes of connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Western civilizations, often set on the Indian subcontinent. His second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), received the Booker Prize in 1981 and was later recognized as "the best novel of all winners" on two prize anniversaries.