September 1 Writer Birthdays

1789 – Marguerite Gardiner (Countess of Blessington), Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess who was best known for her book Conversations of Lord Byron with the Countess of Blessington.

1862 – Nitobe Inazō, Japanese author, agricultural economist, educator, diplomat, politician, linguist, lexicographer, and expert in the Esperanto language.

1865 – Ishibashi Ningetsu, influential Japanese writer, lawyer, politician, literary critic, and novelist.

1875 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author of adventure, science-fiction and fantasy books and stories, best known as the creator of the character Tarzan; he became a war correspondent in his late 60s, after witnessing the attack on Pearl Harbor, an was one of the oldest U.S. war correspondents working during World War II.

1876- Harriet Shaw Weaver, English publisher, magazine editor, and political activist; she was an early supporter of the writer James Joyce and set up a publishing company to publish his work when nobody else would.

1877 – Rex Beach, American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player.

1904 – Aya Koda, Japanese essayist and novelist who was the daughter of novelist Koda Rohan.

1904 – Eve Langley, Australian novelist and poet whose work explores the conflict between being an artist and being a woman.

1906 – Victoria Holt (real name Eleanor Hibbert), most famous pen name of the prolific, bestselling British novelist best known for her romantic works of historical fiction; she also wrote books in other genres under pseudonyms Philippa Carr, Eleanor Burford, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, Anna Percival, Jean Plaidy, and Ellalice Tate. Her works were in the genres of gothic romance, fictionalized stories of European royalty, light romance, crime novels, murder mysteries, and thrillers, and are still popular today.

1906 – Missak Manouchian, Turkish-born French resistance fighter, journalist, poet, politician, and trade unionist.

1914 – Jean Burden, American poet, essayist, teacher, and author who was poetry editor for Yankee magazine for nearly fifty years. She is the author of a primer for poetry teachers, Taking Light from Each Other, and wrote animal-care books under the name Felicia Ames.

1915 – Rajinder Singh Bedi, Pakistani Urdu author, screenwriter, playwright, and film director of the Progressive movement.

1917 – Faina Jyrkilä, Russian-born Finnish writer and sociologist who was the first female sociologist in Finland and one of the first sociologists to study aging.

1926 – James Reaney, Canadian poet and playwright.

1930 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, award-winning Pakistani novelist, playwright, screenwriter, television producer, and radio and television personality.

1930 – Sahibzada Habib-ur-Rahman Qalandar Momand, acclaimed Pakistani Pashto poet, short-story writer, journalist and linguist.

1932 – Lenrie Leopold Wilfred Peters, Gambian surgeon, novelist, poet, and playwright.

1937 – Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Pakistani Punjabi novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright, translator, and politician

1939 – Lily Tomlin, beloved, award-winning American comedian, screenwriter, and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning one-woman stage show, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; for her work on television’s comedy sketch show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In; for movies such as 9 to 5 and The Incredible Shrinking Woman; and her roles on such television series as The West Wing and Grace and Frankie. She also voiced the role of Miss Frizzle on the children’s program, The Magic School Bus.

1942 – C.J. Cherryh (real name Carolyn Janice Cherry), prolific two-time Hugo Award-winning American science-fiction and fantasy author, who is known for “world building,” depicting fictional realms with detail, complexity, and realism.

1945 – Mustafa Balel, Turkish novelist, short-story writer, children’s writer, linguist, translator, and teacher.

1946 – Jim Arnosky, American children’s writer and illustrator.

1951 – Timothy Zahn, bestselling American novelist and short-story writer of science fiction and fantasy; his novels include the Dragonback series and multiple Star Wars books.

1957 – Nelson George, American novelist, columnist, filmmaker, film critic, and cultural critic.

1974 – Betty Nguyen, Vietnamese-born American journalist and news anchor.

1978 – Jesse Kellerman, American novelist and playwright who is the son of bestselling mystery novelists Faye Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman.

1979 – Fábio Yabu, Brazilian comic book author and children’s writer best known as creator of the webcomic “Combo Rangers” and the “Sea Princesses” book series and cartoons.

1986 – María Lilja Þrastardóttir, Icelandic journalist, editor, politician, and women’s rights activist.