1839 – Joaquim Maria Machado (often known as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho), Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright, short story writer, and advocate of monarchism; he is widely regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature.
1850 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator who was active in early scouting and wrote and illustrated The American Boy’s Handy Book.
1894 – Milward Kennedy, English crime writer known for police mysteries and private investigator stories.
1898 – Donald C. Peattie, American naturalist and author who wrote on botany and history.
1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, best known as a leader of the Existentialist movement.
1912 – Mary McCarthy, American novelist, critic, and political activist who was famously called, “a literary figure, a political figure, an urbane figure, a very witty figure who had honesty and wasn’t shy about expressing her opinions.”
1935 – Françoise Sagan, French novelist, playwright, and screenwriter whose first book was published when she was just 18 years old.
1938 – John W. Dower, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer and historian.
1942 – Henry S. Taylor, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet.
1948 – Ian McEwan, English novelist and screenwriter.
1949 – John Agard, Guyanan poet, playwright, and children’s writer.
1950 – Anne Carson, Canadian poet, essayist, translator, and professor of Classics.
1953 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani political leader and memoirist.
1956 – Lyubov Sirota, Kazakhstan-born Ukrainian poet, writer, playwright, journalist, and translator.
1957 – Berke Breathed, American cartoonist best known for his Bloom County comic strip and books.
1963 – Dr. Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Czech screenwriter and director, best known for his Oscar-winning animated Pixar film, Ratatouille.
