On this day
December 24 in literary history
Literary history for December 24: 26 writers born, 25 writers who died and 3 literary events from 759 to 2023. Born on this day: Stephenie Meyer, Caroline Aherne, Eriko Kitagawa.
26writers born
25writers died
3literary events
Writers born on December 24
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Stephenie Meyer | American novelist (born 1973) |
| 1963 | Caroline Aherne | English actress, comedian and writer (1963–2016) |
| 1961 | Eriko Kitagawa | Japanese screenwriter and film director (born 1961) |
| 1950 | Dana Gioia | American poet and writer (born 1950) |
| 1945 | Nicholas Meyer | American screenwriter, producer, author, and director (born 1945) |
| 1942 | Indra Bania | Indian actor, playwright and director (1942-2015) |
| 1927 | Mary Higgins Clark | American novelist and writer (1927–2020) |
| 1920 | Franco Lucentini | Italian writer |
| 1919 | Qateel Shifai | Pakistani poet and lyricist (1919–2001) |
| 1914 | Herbert Reinecker | German novelist |
| 1910 | Fritz Leiber | American fantasy, horror, and SF writer (1910–1992) |
| 1907 | I. F. Stone | American investigative journalist, writer, and author (1907–1989) |
| 1895 | Noel Streatfeild | English author (1895–1986) |
| 1893 | Harry Warren | American composer and lyricist (1893–1981) |
| 1880 | Johnny Gruelle | American cartoonist (December 24 1880 – January 9 1938) |
| 1879 | Émile Nelligan | Canadian poet (1879–1941) |
| 1869 | Henriette Roland Holst | Dutch poet and communist (1869–1954) |
| 1867 | Tevfik Fikret | Ottoman educator and poet (1867–1915) |
| 1843 | Lydia Koidula | Estonian poet (1843–1886) |
| 1822 | Matthew Arnold | English poet and cultural critic (1822–1888) |
| 1810 | Wilhelm Marstrand | Painter and illustrator (1810–1873) |
| 1798 | Adam Mickiewicz | PoIish writer and activist (1798–1855) |
| 1754 | George Crabbe | English poet, surgeon, and clergyman (1754–1832) |
| 1698 | William Warburton | English writer and critic (1698–1779) |
| 1549 | Kaspar Ulenberg | German theological writer and translator |
| 1475 | Thomas Murner | German writer |
Writers who died on December 24
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Richard Bowes | American writer (1944–2023) |
| 2016 | Richard Adams | English writer (1920–2016) |
| 2014 | Edward Greenspan | Canadian lawyer and author |
| 2012 | Dennis O'Driscoll | Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor (1954–2012) |
| 2010 | Elisabeth Beresford | English children's author (1926–2010) |
| 2009 | Gero von Wilpert | German writer |
| 2008 | Harold Pinter | English playwright (1930–2008) |
| 2006 | Kenneth Sivertsen (musician) | Norwegian musician, composer, poet, and comedian |
| 2002 | Kjell Aukrust | Norwegian writer and illustrator |
| 2002 | Jake Thackray | English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist (1938-2002) |
| 1997 | James Komack | American television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor (1924–1997) |
| 1993 | Norman Vincent Peale | American minister, author, and positive thinking proponent (1898-1993) |
| 1992 | Peyo | Belgian comics cartoonist and scriptwriter (1928–1992) |
| 1991 | Virginia Sorensen | American novelist |
| 1990 | Thorbjørn Egner | Norwegian artist and writer (1912–1990) |
| 1988 | Jainendra Kumar | Indian writer |
| 1986 | Gardner Fox | American comics writer (1911–1986) |
| 1982 | Louis Aragon | French poet (1897–1982) |
| 1977 | Samael Aun Weor | Colombian gnostic writer |
| 1969 | Olivia FitzRoy | British author of children's books |
| 1969 | Alfred B. Skar | Norwegian newspaper editor, writer, trade unionist and politician |
| 1961 | Robert Hillyer | American poet (1895–1961) |
| 1938 | Bruno Taut | German architect, urban planner and author (1880-1938) |
| 1889 | Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate | Dutch divine, prose writer and poet (1819–1889) |
| 1863 | William Makepeace Thackeray | English novelist and illustrator (1811–1863) |
Literary events on December 24
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1906 | Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech. |
| 759 | Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di. |
| 759 | The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage. |
Featured
Stephenie Meyer (1973) — Stephenie Meyer is an American novelist and film producer. She wrote the vampire romance series Twilight, which has sold over 160 million copies, with translations in 37 different languages.
Caroline Aherne (1963) — Caroline Mary Aherne was an English actress, comedian, writer and director.
Eriko Kitagawa (1961) — Eriko Kitagawa is a Japanese screenwriter and film director. She is best known for writing Japanese television dramas, notably Long Vacation (1996), Beautiful Life (2000), Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi (2002), and Orange Days (2004).
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.