On this day
December 26 in literary history
Literary history for December 26: 27 writers born, 14 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1606 to 2021. Born on this day: Robert Muchamore, Matt Zoller Seitz, Elizabeth Kostova.
27writers born
14writers died
2literary events
Writers born on December 26
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Robert Muchamore | English young adult fiction author (born 1971) |
| 1968 | Matt Zoller Seitz | American writer and critic (born 1968) |
| 1964 | Elizabeth Kostova | American writer (born 1964) |
| 1956 | David Sedaris | American humorist and author (born 1956) |
| 1947 | Jean Echenoz | French writer (born 1947) |
| 1947 | Liz Lochhead | Scottish poet and essayist (born 1947) |
| 1942 | Catherine Coulter | American romance novelist |
| 1941 | Daniel Schmid | Swiss film director and screenwriter (1941–2006) |
| 1939 | Fred Schepisi | Australian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1939) |
| 1938 | Bahram Beyzai | Iranian playwright, theatre director and screenwriter (1938–2025) |
| 1938 | Mirko Kovač (writer) | Yugoslav writer |
| 1936 | Kitty Dukakis | American author (1936–2025) |
| 1930 | Jean Ferrat | French singer-songwriter and poet |
| 1927 | Denis Gifford | British historian, writer and comic artist (1927–2000) |
| 1921 | John Severin | American cartoonist |
| 1915 | Rolf Botvid | Swedish actor and writer |
| 1905 | William Loeb III | American newspaper publisher |
| 1904 | Alejo Carpentier | Cuban novelist (1904–1980) |
| 1894 | Jean Toomer | American poet and novelist (1894–1967) |
| 1891 | Henry Miller | American novelist (1891–1980) |
| 1853 | René Bazin | French novelist |
| 1820 | Dion Boucicault | Irish actor and dramatist (1820–1890) |
| 1819 | E. D. E. N. Southworth | American novelist |
| 1803 | Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald | Estonian writer, author of the national epic Kalevipoeg (1803-1882) |
| 1769 | Ernst Moritz Arndt | German historian, writer and politician (1769–1860) |
| 1716 | Thomas Gray | English poet and classical scholar (1716–1771) |
| 1716 | Jean François de Saint-Lambert | French poet, philosopher and military officer (1716–1803) |
Writers who died on December 26
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Paul B. Kidd | Australian author, journalist, and radio show host (1945–2021) |
| 2021 | E. O. Wilson | American biologist, naturalist, and writer (1929–2021) |
| 2014 | Stanisław Barańczak | Polish poet, literary critic, scholar, editor, translator and lecturer (1946 – 2014) |
| 2012 | Gerald McDermott | American film director, children's writer and illustrator |
| 2006 | Munir Niazi | Pakistani poet (1923–2006) |
| 1998 | Ram Swarup | Indian Hindutva author (1920–1998) |
| 1981 | Amber Reeves | British novelist and teacher |
| 1966 | Ina Boudier-Bakker | Dutch writer |
| 1933 | Anatoly Lunacharsky | Russian revolutionary, Soviet statesman and writer (1875–1933) |
| 1933 | H. W. Fowler | British usage writer and lexicographer (1858–1933) |
| 1929 | Albert Giraud | Belgian poet |
| 1923 | Dietrich Eckart | German writer (1868–1923) |
| 1902 | Mary Hartwell Catherwood | American writer |
| 1731 | Antoine Houdar de la Motte | French author (1672–1731) |
Literary events on December 26
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1926 | World premiere of Sibelius's tone poem Tapiola. |
| 1606 | The first known performance of King Lear, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare (pictured) and based on the legend of Leir of Britain, took place before King James I. |
Featured
Robert Muchamore (1972) — Robert Kilgore Muchamore is an English author of young adult fiction, best known for his CHERUB, Henderson's Boys and Rock War series.
Matt Zoller Seitz (1968) — Matt Zoller Seitz is an American film and television critic as well as an author and filmmaker.
Elizabeth Kostova (1964) — Elizabeth Johnson Kostova is an American author best known for her debut novel The Historian.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.