1575 – Bartol Kašić, Croatian writer, linguist, translator, and lexicographer who was a Jesuit clergyman and grammarian during the Counter-Reformation; he wrote the first Croatian grammar and translated the Bible and the Roman Rite into Croatian.
1780 – Conradine Birgitte Dunker (née Hansteen), Norwegian writer, memoirist, and salonnière who held a prominent spot in the social life of the capital city; her memoirs, published posthumously, are valuable sources on 19th-century cultural life.
1797 – Ludwika Róza Ossolinska, popular Polish writer, poet, children’s writer, and philanthropist.
1836 – Bret Harte, U.S. author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California.
1837 – Luisa Pérez de Zambrana (née Luisa Pérez y Montes de Oca), Cuban writer and translator’ she was one of Cuba’s greatest poets.
1845 – Judith Gautier, French poet, playwright, translator, historical novelist, and singer who was also a scholar of Asian languages, art, and culture; many of her works dealt with Chinese and Japanese themes. She is also remembered for her friendships and romances with some of the most prominent artists and intellectuals of her day, including painter John Singer Sargent, composer Richard Wagner, writers Victor Hugo and Gustave Flaubert, and socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau.
1849 – Anastasia Tumanishvili-Tsereteli, Georgian writer, opinion journalist, children’s author, editor, and educator who made important contributions to cultural developments in her country, particularly for women.
1850 – Edgar Wilson Nye, U.S. journalist, humorist, and newspaper founder; he sometimes used the pen name “Bill Nye,” after a character in a famous poem by another August 25 birthday writer, Bret Harte.
1868 – Yamada Bimyo, Japanese novelist who was one of the most influential literary reformers in 1880s Japan; he is remembered for his role in developing the modern form of the Japanese historical novel.
1891 – David Shimoni, award-winning Belarusian-born Israeli poet, author, translator, and linguist.
1889 – William Feather, U.S. journalist, magazine publisher, and nonfiction author who was also known for his aphorisms (known as “featherisms”).
1889 – Aslaug Vaa, Norwegian poet, author, and playwright; her works contain elements from local tradition and landscape mixed with international influences.
1893 – Isabel Mary Mitchell, Australian novelist, detective novelist, and memoirist; she went blind in the 1940s and wrote about it in Uncharted Country: Aspects of Life in Blindness. She also wrote eight novels after losing her sight, through the use of dictaphone and typewriter; her detective fiction was published under the pen name Josephine Plain.
1897 – Francois Jacobus du Toit, South African journalist and economist.
1899 – Paul Herman Buck, Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. historian and professor.
1912 – Tsuneari Fukuda, Japanese writer, poet, playwright, translator, literary critic, novelist, professor, and linguist; he is best known for his translations of William Shakespeare’s work into Japanese.
1913 – Walt Kelly, U.S. animator, cartoonist, and writer who was best known for Pogo but who also worked for Disney.
1917 – Leslie Hilton Brown, Indian-born British and Kenyan agriculturalist, naturalist, ornithologist, researcher, and author; along with several books, including British Birds of Prey, he wrote the Encyclopædia Britannica entry on the Falconiforms.
1921 – Brian Moore, Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter, known for his depictions of life in Northern Ireland after WWII; he was described in the L.A. Times as “one of the few genuine masters of the contemporary novel.”
1923 – Dorothy Dunnett, Scottish author of historical novels and detective novels; she was also a portrait painter and a sculptor.
1923 – Edmond Kiraz (born Kirazian), Egyptian-born French-Armenian editorial cartoonist and illustrator.
1925 – Thea Astley, prolific and acclaimed Australian novelist and short-story writer.
1928 – Abdul Hameed, Pakastani Urdu fiction writer and screenwriter who is best known for writing a popular children’s television play Ainak Wala Jin.
1931 – Tchicaya U Tam’si (born Gérald-Félix Tchicaya), Congolese author, poet, and journalist; his pen name means in Kikongo, “small paper that speaks for a country.”
1931 – Misa Yamamura, South Korean-born Japanese novelist and mystery writer; she is considered the queen of mystery novels in Japan, and is often compared to Agatha Christie.
1933 – Halima Khatun, award-winning Bangladeshi writer, academic, and activist; she took part in Bengali Language Movement.
1933 – Patrick McManus, U.S. humor writer whose columns focusing on the outdoors have been gathered into popular books.
1934 – Helao Shityuwete, Angolan-born Namibian author, autobiographer, politician, and military commander.
1935 – Tufan Miñnullin (full name Miñnullin Tufan Gabdulla uli), Tatar writer, playwright, screenwriter, and publicist.
1935 – Charles Wright, U.S. poet and writer who was U.S. Poet Laureate and winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
1937 – Virginia Euwer Wolff, U.S. author of children’s books, most well known for her “Make Lemonade” series.
1938 – Frederick Forsyth, bestselling English author of thriller novels who is also an occasional political commentator..
1939 – Marshall Brickman, Brazilian-born U.S. screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with director/screenwriter Woody Allen and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.
1941 – Beppe Costa, Italian poet, novelist, and publisher.
1942 – Howard Jacobsen, Booker Prize-winning British author, broadcaster, and journalist.
1946 – Charles Ghigna, U.S. author of children’s books who also goes by the name Father Goose.
1949 – Martin Amis, British novelist, short-story author, and nonfiction writer who is the son of celebrated author Kingsley Amis.
1949 – Howard Thornton Joseph, New Zealand rugby player, journalist, lawyer, and novelist; his book Game Without End is about rugby in New Zealand.
1953 – Uladzimir Arlou (known as U.A. Arlou or as Vladimir Aljakseevich Orlov), award-winning Belarusian historian, writer, politician, and poet.
1955 – Shogo Sato (born Kanetaka Sato), Japanese novelist, essayist, short-story writer, and bicycle racer.
1956 – Cinzia Sasso, Italian journalist, writer, and book author.
1958 – Emiliano Cotelo, Uruguayan journalist and radio personality known for his interviews with local and international politicians.
1959 – Ian Falconer, U.S. children’s book author and illustrator, best known for his Olivia books; he also designs theater costumes and sets.
1959 – Lane Smith, U.S. children’s book author and illustrator, best known for his collaborations with author Jon Scieszka.
1960 – Oludotun “Dotun” Adebayo, Nigerian radio presenter, writer, and publisher.
1962 – Taslima Nasrin, Bangladeshi author, poet, and former physician who has lived in exile since 1994
1967 – Laura Anne Gilman, Nebula Award-nominated U.S. author of fantasy, mystery, romance, and young-adult novels.
1973 – Mamare Touno (real name Daisuke Umezu), Japanese author of light novels and manga; his series Log Horizon and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha have both been adapted into anime.
1975 – Adonis Durado, award-winning Filipino poet, visual journalist, and graphic designer.
1977 – Masumi Asano, Japanese novelist, writer, singer, voice actress, and lyricist.
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