J.D. Salinger, the legendary author of "The Catcher in the Rye," has died at age 91.

Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son, actor Matt Salinger, said in a statement from Salinger's longtime literary representative, Harold Ober Associates, Inc.

At the time of his death, Salinger had been living in self-imposed isolation in a small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.

Salinger was born Jan. 1, 1919, in New York City. He was married to Claire Douglas, with whom he had two children, Peggy and Matthew, before their 1967 divorce.

In 1940, he published his first fiction, "The Young Folks," in Story magazine. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1946, where he continued writing.

"The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the troubled Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951.

Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of youthful angst. And it continues to sell briskly—with more than 60 million copies worldwide. A variety of actors and musicians including Winona Ryder, John Cusack, and Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day have cited the book as one their favorite reads.

The cult formed around the book turned tragic in December 1980 when crazed Beatles fan Mark David Chapman shot and killed John Lennon, citing Salinger's novel as an inspiration and stating that "this extraordinary book holds many answers."

Only a few months after, a copy of "Catcher" would be found in the hotel room of John David Hinckley after he attempted to assassinate President Reagan.

Today, Salinger's book remains a standard in school curriculums and is discussed on countless Web sites.

Salinger fans shared their grief Thursday on social networks. Topics such as "Salinger" and "Holden Caufield" were among the most popular on Twitter. CNN's Larry King tweeted that "Catcher" is his favorite book.

Although Salinger’s last published story, "Hapworth 16, 1928," came out in The New Yorker as far back in 1965, it isn’t as if he stopped writing.

"I love to write and I assure you I write regularly," Salinger said in a brief interview with the Baton Rouge Advocate in 1980. "But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it."

Meanwhile, he refused interviews, instructing his agent not to forward fan mail and reportedly spending much of his time writing in a cement bunker.

In 1998, author Joyce Maynard published her memoir "At Home in the World," in which she detailed her eight-month affair with Salinger in the early 1970s. She recalled an unflattering picture of the writer.

In 2000, daughter Margaret Salinger's "Dreamcatcher" portrayed his father as an unpleasant recluse traumatized by his experiences during the war.

Actor Matt Salinger, the author's other child, disputed his sister's book when it came out and labeled it "gothic tales of our supposed childhood."

"He was a caring, fun, and wonderful father to me, and a tremendous grandfather to my boys," he wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.