On this day
August 12 in literary history
Literary history for August 12: 24 writers born and 15 writers who died from 1774 to 2015. Born on this day: Tobias Ellwood, Réjean Ducharme, David Jacobs (writer).
Writers born on August 12
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Tobias Ellwood | British-American politician, soldier and author (born 1966) |
| 1941 | Réjean Ducharme | Canadian writer |
| 1939 | David Jacobs (writer) | American television writer, producer, and director (1939–2023) |
| 1937 | Walter Dean Myers | American children's book author (1937–2014) |
| 1933 | Frederic Lindsay | Scottish writer |
| 1931 | William Goldman | American writer (1931–2018) |
| 1928 | Dan Curtis | American television and film director, writer, and producer (1927–2006) |
| 1925 | Donald Justice | American poet |
| 1925 | Norris McWhirter | English writer |
| 1925 | Ross McWhirter | English writer, political activist (1925–1975) |
| 1917 | Oliver Crawford | American screenwriter and author |
| 1917 | Ebba Haslund | Norwegian writer |
| 1916 | Edward Pinkowski | American writer (1916–2020) |
| 1912 | Samuel Fuller | American filmmaker, writer, and actor (1912–1997) |
| 1906 | Tedd Pierce | American screenwriter (1906–1972) |
| 1889 | Zerna Sharp | American writer |
| 1883 | Martha Hedman | American dramatist |
| 1880 | Radclyffe Hall | British poet and author (1880–1943) |
| 1876 | Mary Roberts Rinehart | American mystery writer (1876–1958) |
| 1867 | Edith Hamilton | American teacher and writer (1867–1963) |
| 1866 | Jacinto Benavente | Spanish dramatist (1866–1954) |
| 1859 | Katharine Lee Bates | American poet, author, and professor; writer of "America the Beautiful" (1859–1929) |
| 1831 | Helena Blavatsky | Russian-American mystic and writer (1831–1891) |
| 1774 | Robert Southey | English romantic poet (1774–1843) |
Writers who died on August 12
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Stephen Lewis (actor) | English actor and writer (1926–2015) |
| 2010 | Isaac Bonewits | American Neopagan leader and writer (1949–2012) |
| 2008 | Helge Hagerup | Norwegian playwright, poet and novelist |
| 1996 | Mark Gruenwald | American comic book writer (1953–1996) |
| 1986 | Evaline Ness | American illustrator and writer (1911–1986) |
| 1967 | Esther Forbes | American novelist (1891–1967) |
| 1966 | Artur Alliksaar | Estonian poet |
| 1964 | Ian Fleming | British writer (1908–1964) |
| 1955 | Thomas Mann | German novelist (1875–1955) |
| 1952 | David Bergelson | Yiddish-language playwright and writer (1884–1952) |
| 1924 | Sándor Bródy (writer) | Hungarian author and journalist (1863–1924) |
| 1922 | Arthur Griffith | Irish politician and writer, founder of Sinn Féin (1871–1922) |
| 1921 | Pyotr Boborykin | Russian writer and journalist (1836–1921) |
| 1891 | James Russell Lowell | American poet and diplomat (1819–1891) |
| 1827 | William Blake | English poet and artist (1757–1827) |
Featured
Tobias Ellwood (1966) — Tobias Martin Ellwood is a British-American former Conservative Party politician and soldier who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth East from 2005 to 2024.
Réjean Ducharme (1941) — Réjean Ducharme was a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright who resided in Montreal. He was known for his reclusive personality and did not appear at any public functions since his first successful book was published in 1966. A common theme of his early work was the rejection of the adult world by children.
David Jacobs (writer) (1939) — David Arnold Jacobs was an American television writer, producer, and director. He is most well known as the creator of the CBS primetime series Dallas, Knots Landing, and Paradise.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.