The death of her mother on 30 December 1990 led Rowling led to write Harry Potter as a boy longing for his dead parents. His pain became "more deeper, more real" than in earlier versions because she related to it herself. In a 2000 interview with "The Guardian", Rowling also said that the character of Wart in T.H. White's novel "The Sword in the Stone" is "Harry's spiritual ancestor." In that book, a boy called Wart meets the mysterious wizard Merlin. Merlin helps the child grow into a noble, powerful warrior who later becomes King Arthur. She also said that Harry was born on 31 July and has the same birthday as herself. However, she says, Harry is not directly based on any real-life character, "he came just out of a part of me".