1718 – Elizabeth Montagu, British social reformer, patron of the arts, literary critic, and writer.
1857 – Arthur Edward Waite, American-born British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote about the occult and co-created the Rider-Waite Tarot deck.
1879 – Wallace Stevens, Pulitzer Prize-winning American modernist poet and playwright.
1904 – Graham Greene, British novelist, playwright, short-story writer, and literary critic.
1906 – Willy Ley, German-born science writer, spaceflight advocate, and historian of science who helped popularize rocketry, spaceflight, and natural history.
1911 – Jack Finney (real name Walter Braden Finney), American author of science fiction and thrillers, including the The Body Snatchers, on which the movie was based.
1926 – Jan Morris, Welsh historian and travel writer; she is best known for her history of the British empire, the Pax Brittanica trilogy.
1938 – Rex Reed, American film critic, columnist, and television personality.
1939 – Otto R. Salassi, American professor and author of books for young adults; his books were set in the South.
1941 – Jeanne Betancourt, American TV screenwriter and author of children’s books; best known for her “Pony Pals” book series, she is also an accomplished painter.
1941 – Jennifer Owings Dewey, author and illustrator of natural history books for adults and children.
1943 – Dirk Zimmer, German-born author and illustrator of children’s books, known for his highly detailed etchings and drawings.
1944 – Vernor Vinge, American mathematics, computer scientist, and science-fiction author who has won many Hugo Awards.
1959 – Bruce Balan, American children’s book writer, technical writer, and multimedia script writer.
1960 – Joe Sacco, Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist.
1960 – Terence Winter, Emmy Award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
