January 9 Writer Birthdays

1728 – Thomas Warton, critic and poet who became British Poet Laureate.

1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish romantic poet.

1811 – Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English writer and humorist whose family claimed descent from Thomas Becket.

1829 – Thomas William Robertson, English playwright.

1832 – Félix-Gabriel Marchand, Canadian journalist, author, and politician who was Premier of Quebec.

1856 – Anton Aškerc, ethnic Slovene poet and Roman Catholic priest who worked in Austria, best known for his epic poems.

1856 – Lizette Woodworth Reese, American writer, poet, and teacher.

1857 – Henry B Fuller, American novelist and short-story writer.

1859 – Carrie Chapman Catt, American writer and activist who was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and founder of the League of Women Voters.

1859 – Frederik Pijper, Dutch vicar, editor, critic, and church historian.

1873 – Hayyim Nahman Bialik, influential Estonian-born Jewish poet who was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry; Israel’s national poet.

1876 – Hans Bethge, German poet and editor who also wrote diaries, travelogues, short stories, essays, and plays; he is best known for poetic translations of Chinese classics.

1881 – Giovanni Papini, Italian journalist, essayist, literary critic, poet, and novelist.

1881 – Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and literary critic

1890 – Karel Capek, Czech writer, playwright, dramatist, essayist, publisher, literary reviewer, photographer, and art critic, best known for his science fiction; he is credited with coining the word “robot.”

1890 – Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist and writer.

1891 – August Gailit, Estonian writer of poetry and novels; he co-founded a literary group whose erotic poems were considered scandalous; his novels sometimes dealt with political and social issues.

1897 – Karl Löwith, German philosopher.

1908 – Simone de Beauvoir (Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir), influential French feminist author, essayist, existentialist philosopher, political activist, and social theorist.

1920 – Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar, medical researcher, author, and governor of Sindh Province.

1921 – Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright

1925 – Abdelhamid Benhadugah, Arab writer who wrote more than fifteen novels in Arabic as well as short stories and plays; he has been described as one of the most important Algerian writers in Arabic of his time.

1928 – Judith Krantz, bestselling American author of romance novels.

1929 – Heiner Müller, German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist, and theatre director.

1929 – Brian Friel, Irish dramatist often called the “Irish Chekhov.”

1931 – Algirdas Jonas Budrys, Prussian author of science fiction.

1933 – Sonia Garmers, Antillean author of novels, stories, children’s books, and cookbooks.

1933 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-born novelist specializing in historical fiction about Southern Africa, seen from the viewpoints of both black and white families

1936 – Anne Rivers Siddons, American writer of bestselling fiction, mostly set in the southern United States.

1937 – Klaus Schlesinger, German novelist and journalist.

1943 – Robert Drewe, Australian novelist, short-story writer, and nonfiction writer.

1954 – Thorvald Steen, Norwegian novelist, playwright, poet, children’s author, short story writer, and essayist.