1813 – Jermain Wesley Loguen, American writer and abolitionist, known for The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman, a Narrative of Real Life.
1871 – Jovan Dučić, Bosnian Serb modernist poet, political writer, and diplomat.
1893 – William Earl Johns, English pilot and writer of adventure stories, usually under the name Captain W.E. Johns (though he was never actually a captain); he is best known as creator of pilot and adventurer Biggles.
1915 – Margaret Ellis Millar (née Sturm), American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer; married to Kenneth Millar (better known by his pen name Ross Macdonald); she often used Santa Barbara, California, as a setting in her novels, but fictionalized it as San Felice or Santa Felicia.
1928 – Andrew Greeley, prolific American novelist, journalist, columnist, sociologist, and Catholic priest; his novels were controversial because of his explicit treatment of sexuality, leading the National Catholic Register to accuse him of having “the dirtiest mind ever ordained.”
1936 – K.S. Nissar Ahmed, prominent Indian poet and writer in the Kannada language; he is also a geologist.
1941 – Stephen Joseph Cannell, American mystery novelist and television screenwriter and producer who created or co-created nearly 40 television series, many of them popular crime shows.
1951 – Elizabeth Swados, American novelist, nonfiction author, children’s book author, composer, and theatre director who often wrote humorous satire, but also explored racism, murder, and mental illness; she collaborated on two musicals with cartoonist Gary Trudeau, writing the music to his lyrics.
1953 – Giannina Braschi, Puerto Rican novelist and poet who is considered an influential and revolutionary voice in contemporary Latin American literature.
1957 – Azouz Begag (عزوز بقاق ), French writer, politician, and researcher in economics and sociology.
