On this day
April 23 in literary history
Literary history for April 23: 17 writers born, 18 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1516 to 2014. Born on this day: Pierre Labrie, Hans Välimäki, Unity Dow.
Writers born on April 23
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Pierre Labrie | Québécois poet |
| 1970 | Hans Välimäki | Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author |
| 1959 | Unity Dow | Motswana politician, writer, and human rights activist (born 1959) |
| 1954 | Michael Moore | American filmmaker and author (born 1954) |
| 1951 | Martin Bayerle | American treasure hunter and author (born 1951) |
| 1948 | Pascal Quignard | French writer (born 1948) |
| 1937 | Victoria Glendinning | British biographer and novelist (born 1937) |
| 1932 | Jim Fixx | American fitness advocate and author (1932–1984) |
| 1929 | George Steiner | French and American Writer, literary critic and philosopher (1929–2020) |
| 1926 | J. P. Donleavy | Novelist, playwright, essayist |
| 1923 | Avram Davidson | American writer (1923–1993) |
| 1918 | Maurice Druon | French writer and scholar (1918–2009) |
| 1902 | Halldór Laxness | Icelandic author (1902–1998) |
| 1895 | Ngaio Marsh | New Zealand crime writer and theatre director (1895–1982) |
| 1818 | James Anthony Froude | English historian, novelist and biographer (1818–1894) |
| 1564 | William Shakespeare | English playwright and poet (1564–1616) |
| 1516 | Georg Fabricius | German Renaissance poet, historian and archaeologist |
Writers who died on April 23
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Michael Glawogger | Austrian film director, screenwriter and cinematographer (1959–2014) |
| 2014 | Mark Shand | English travel writer and conservationist (1951–2014) |
| 2010 | Peter Porter (poet) | British-based Australian poet (1929– 2010) |
| 2007 | David Halberstam | American writer, journalist and historian (1934–2007) |
| 2005 | Romano Scarpa | Italian animator and comic book writer |
| 1996 | P. L. Travers | Australian-British novelist, actress and journalist (1899–1996) |
| 1995 | Riho Lahi | Estonian writer, journalist and cartoonist |
| 1992 | Satyajit Ray | Indian filmmaker and writer (1921–1992) |
| 1981 | Josep Pla | Spanish journalist and writer |
| 1966 | George Ohsawa | Japanese author and proponent of alternative medicine |
| 1936 | Teresa de la Parra | Venezuelan novelist |
| 1915 | Rupert Brooke | English poet (1887–1915) |
| 1889 | Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly | French writer (1808–1889) |
| 1850 | William Wordsworth | English Romantic poet (1770–1850) |
| 1695 | Henry Vaughan | Welsh metaphysical poet (1621–1695) |
| 1616 | William Shakespeare | English playwright and poet (1564–1616) |
| 1616 | Inca Garcilaso de la Vega | Writer, soldier, Spanish noble of Inca descent |
| 1554 | Gaspara Stampa | Italian poet (1461–1528) |
Literary events on April 23
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2005 | The first YouTube video, titled "Me at the zoo", is published by co-founder Jawed Karim. |
Featured
Pierre Labrie (1972) — Pierre Labrie is a Québécois poet, born at Mont-Joli, Quebec. He now lives in Trois-Rivières.
Hans Välimäki (1970) — Hans Välimäki is a Finnish chef, and since 1998, was the owner of the now closed restaurant Chez Dominique. Välimäki was the chief judge of the Sub culinary show Top Chef Suomi and hosts the Finnish version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Kuppilat kuntoon, Hans Välimäki!.
Unity Dow (1959) — Unity Dow is a Motswana lawyer, author, human rights activist, Vice President of Botswana Congress Party and Member of Parliament for Kgatleng West since October 2024. She formerly served as a judge on the High Court of Botswana and in various Botswana government ministries.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.