1795 – Thomas Carlyle, Victorian-era Scottish satirical writer and historian.
1817 – Prince Nikoloz “Tato” Baratashvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ “ტატო” ბარათაშვილი), Georgian poet credited with combining modern nationalism with European Romanticism to introduce “Europeanism” into Georgian literature; often referred to as the “Georgian Byron.”
1822 – Frances Power Cobbe, Victorian-era Irish author, essayist, and activist who wrote about women’s suffrage, human rights, and animal rights.
1835 – Samuel Butler, English author and satirist, best known for Erewhon and The Way of All Flesh.
1875 – Rainer Maria Rilke (born René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke), Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist who is considered one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets.
1883 – Katharine Susannah Prichard, Fiji-born Australian author of novels, plays, and short stories, who was also a founding member of the Communist Party of Australia.
1903 – Cornell Woolrich, American novelist, many of whose works were adapted into noir films.
1905 – Munro Leaf (born Wilbur Monroe Leaf), American author and illustrator of children’s literature; he is best known for The Story of Ferdinand, a children’s classic that he wrote on a yellow legal pad in less than an hour.
1934 – Wen Shaoxian (溫紹賢) – Chinese translator, scholar, novelist
1949 – A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer.
1969 – Plum Sykes (born Victoria Sykes), British fashion writer, editor, and novelist.
The Petrini Page 