- Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948 from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, USA
- Four children with wife Rose: Diane, Glenn, Eric, and John
- Son of Ira J. Sobol and Ida (Gelula) Sobol
- After a brief stint as a buyer at Macy's in New York, he moved to Florida and started writing full time.
- In 1949, he took a job at the New York Daily News, and worked there for two years.
- Following the war, he attended Oberlin College, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He also attended the New School of Social Research.
- Sobol served with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II and served in the Pacific Theater.
- He attended the NYC Ethical Culture Fieldston School and graduated from the Fieldston School in New York City in 1942.
- He started his professional career as a copy boy for the New York Sun, eventually working his way up to reporter.
- He started writing the syndicated series Two-Minute Mysteries in 1959, starring criminologist Dr. Haledjian.
- His manuscripts are stored at the University of Minnesota, in the Kerlan Collection.
- Sobol has written more than 65 books.
- His middle initial "J" didn't stand for any name.
- He worked as a newspaper copy boy and a reporter during the 1940s and 1950s. He wrote a syndicated column, "Two Minute Mysteries," which led to the Encyclopedia Brown series.
- In addition to his Encyclopedia Brown series, he wrote more than 60 children's books on various topics, including Medieval knights, the American Revolutionary War, and the Wright Brothers.
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