0034 – Persius (full name Aulus Persius Flaccus), Ancient Tuscan poet, writer, philosopher, and satirist of Etruscan origin; in his poems and satires he shows a stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he considered to be the stylistic abuses of his poetic contemporaries. His work enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the Middle Ages.
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; he was 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; she 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.
1931 – Park Hijin, South Korea poet who grew up under Japanese colonial rule and early in his career wrote in Japanese; his work, influenced by the Romantic poets , starkly contrasts heaven and earth, and light and darkness. He also wrote travel poems, based on his extensive travel to the United States and Europe.
1934 – Wen Shaoxian (溫紹賢) – Chinese translator, scholar, novelist.
1936 – Michiko Yamamoto (real name Michiko Furuya), award-winning Japanese short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
1937 – Rahmatullah Dard, Indian-born Pashto-language ghazal poet (ghazal is a form of poetry made up like an odd numbered chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem).
1940 – Trudi Guda, Surinamese writer, poet, and anthropologist who headed Suriname’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
1947 – Ursula Krechel, award-winning German writer, lyric poet, playwright, radio drama writer, and translator
1949 – A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer.
1950 – Zsuzsa Rakovszky, award-winning Hungarian poet, writer, poet, librarian, and translator.
1969 – Plum Sykes (born Victoria Sykes), British fashion writer, editor, and novelist.
