1844 – Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy, British poet of Irish descent.
1866 – Ng Poon Chew, Chinese author, journalist, publisher, and activist who published the first Chinese language daily newspaper to be printed outside of China
1869 – Algernon Blackwood, English novelist and short story writer, known for ghost stories and weird fiction.
1879 – Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize-winning German-born theoretical physicist whose name is synonymous with “genius.”
1889 – Marguerite de Angeli, Newbery Award-winning American children’s author and illustrator.
1910 – Genzo Murakami, Japanese author of historical novels.
1916 – (Albert) Horton Foote, Jr., American playwright and screenwriter best known for writing the script for To Kill a Mockingbird.
1919 – Max Shulman, American writer and humorist best known for his character Dobie Gillis, who became a movie and TV character.
1920 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist; creator of Dennis the Menace.
1940 – Mu Shiying, Chinese writer of modernist short stories.
1947 – Pam Ayres, English poet, songwriter and TV personality.
1951 – Mary K. (Katherine) Pershall, Australian author of children’s novels.
1957 – W. Andrew Robinson, British author who wrote books about India.
1957 – Tad Williams, American science fiction and fantasy author.
1958 – Caryl Phillips, British/Caribbean novelist, screenwriter, and essayist.
1960 – Fiona McIntosh, Australian author of adult crime novels and children’s books; she has also written under the pseudonym of Lauren Crow.
1964 – Po Bronson, American novelist and nonfiction author.
1968 – Radka Denemarková, Czech novelist, dramatist, screenwriter, translator, journalist, and essayist.
1973 – Martina Pilcerova (known professionally as “Martina”), award-winning Slovak fantasy artist and author.
1978 – Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, Armenian-born American writer, lecturer, activist, and politician whose work focuses on the plight of Armenians.
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