1679 – Catharine Trotter Cockburn, English novelist, dramatist, letter-writer, and philosopher whose work addresses a range of issues but focuses most often on moral philosophy and theology.
1776 – Amalia von Helvig, German and Swedish artist, writer, poet, translator, artist, socialite, and salonnière who was an inspiration for many artists.
1780 – Zeynalabdin Shirvani (also known as Tamkin), Persian geographer, philosopher, historian, travel writer, and poet, born in what is now Azerbaijan.
1804 – Dora Wordsworth, English travel writer who was a daughter of poet William Wordsworth; she was a major influence on her father’s work, and he immortalized her in his literary works, “Address to My Infant Daughter” and “The Triad.”
1860 – Jules Laforgue, Uruguayan-born French symbolist poet and short-story writer.
1865 – Dame Mary Jean Gilmore (née Cameron), prolific Australian author, poet, editor, teacher, journalist, columnist, and labor activist who wrote on many themes but is best known for her evocative views of country life; on her death at the age of 97, she was accorded a state funeral. Her image is featured on the Australian ten-dollar note.
1884 – Hugo Gernsback, Luxembourgian-American writer, editor, and influential science-fiction magazine publisher; he has been called the “father of science fiction,” and one of science fiction’s most prestigious awards programs, the Hugos, is named after him.
1888 – Dora Petrova Gabe, Bulgarian Jewish writer, poet, children’s writer, essayist, travel writer, short-story writer, and translator.
1888 – T.E. Lawrence (Thomas Edward Lawrence), British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who is best known as Lawrence of Arabia.
1896 – Alice Nahon, bestselling Belgian poet and librarian whose work centers around nature, admiration for simple things, grief for other people’s suffering, and religious inspiration.
1897 – Marjorie Faith Barnard, Australian novelist, critic, short-story writer, historian, and librarian.
1899 – Salvador Reyes Figueroa, award-winning Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, magazine founder, and diplomat.
1899 – Andrei Platonov (pen name of Andrei Platonovich Klimentov), Russian writer, poet, playwright, science-fiction author, and philosopher whose works are considered a precursor to existentialism; in his lifetime, most of his works were banned for their skepticism toward collectivization and other Stalinist policies, and for their experimental, avant-garde form.
1902 – Georgette Heyer, British romance and mystery novelist who is credited with originating the Regency romance genre with her novel Regency Buck.
1902 – Wallace Thurman, African-American novelist, essayist, editor, and newspaper publisher associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
1904 – Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, influential Indian poet, author, and short-story writer; one of her most popular poems is “Jhansi ki Rani,” about the courageous Queen of Jhansi, and is one of the most recited poems in Hindi literature.
1908 – William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., National Book Award-winning American novelist, New Yorker Magazine editor, short-story writer, essayist, children’s author, and memoirist.
1908 – Émile-Dostaler O’Leary, Canadian journalist, writer, and French-Canadian nationalist.
1914 – Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, prolific American children’s author whose book May I Bring a Friend? won the Caldecott Medal; she once said of children’s literature: ”a book for young people that honestly has its roots in the author’s feelings as a child is not likely to seem old-fashioned or out of date.”
1917 – Matt Christopher, popular American author of children’s books and short stories, mostly about sports.
1920 – Charles Bukowski, American author who was part of the Dirty Realism movement; he was immortalized in lyrics by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1920 – Virgil Ierunca, Romanian writer, poet, journalist, and literary critic.
1923 – Millôr Fernandes (born Milton Viola Fernandes), award-winning Brazilian cartoonist, humorist, playwright, screenwriter, poet, journalist, translator, linguist, and founder of a satirical newspaper.
1925 – Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, Azerbaijani poet, writer, playwright, lyricist, translator, professor, and politician; he is often regarded as the second greatest contemporary poet of Azerbaijan (after Samed Vurgun).
1932 – Jaya Vallabhdas Mehta, Indian Gujarati writer, poet, literary critic, teacher, and translator
1932 – Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo, Nigerian poet, teacher, and librarian who died fighting for the independence of Biafra; he is considered an outstanding postcolonial English-language African poet and one of the major modernist writers of the 20th century.
1934 – Diana Wynne Jones, influential, award-winning British fantasy novelist, poet, literary critic, academic, and short-story; much of her work was written for children and young adults.
1942 – Darmanto Jatman, Indonesian poet, writer, philosopher, and professor.
1943 – Bobbi Sykes, Australian writer, poet, and biographer; she was also a lifelong campaigner for indigenous land rights, human rights, and women’s rights.
1945 – Neelabh Ashk, Indian Hindi-language poet, journalist, screenwriter, editor, author, and translator who is best known for translating the works of notable authors including Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, William Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, and Mikhail Lermontov.
1949 – Marjan Strojan, award-winning Slovene poet, journalist, editor, essayist, film critic, and translator.
1954 – Benjamin Alire Sáenz, award-winning American poet, novelist, and children’s book author.
1960 – Marine Petrossian (also written as Mariné Petrossian), award-winning Armenian poet, essayist, and columnist; she writes in Armenian and translates some of her own work into English.
1962 – Solvej Balle, Danish novelist, poet, editor, playwright, short-story writer, and translator.
1962 – Aime Hansen (born Philipa Nibspitter), Estonian poet, short-story writer, and artist who writes in both Estonian and English; she is noted for her works with religious themes and her exploration of psychology and the mysticism of life.
1963 – Jennifer Donnelly, American writer of young-adult fiction; she is best known for the historical novel A Northern Light, which Time Magazine has named one of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.
1972 – Shadab Zeest Hashmi, award-winning Pakistani-born poet, writer, essayist, columnist, and editor who writes in English; many of her poems explore feminism, history, and Islam.
1981 – Tumi Molekane, Tanzanian-born South African poet, songwriter, and rapper.
1983 – Valeria Luiselli, award-winning Mexican author of novels and essays.
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