On this day
December 9 in literary history
Literary history for December 9: 28 writers born, 21 writers who died and 3 literary events from 1544 to 2024. Born on this day: Stacey Abrams, Mario Cantone, Jean-Pierre Thiollet.
Writers born on December 9
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Stacey Abrams | American politician, lawyer, activist, and author (born 1973) |
| 1959 | Mario Cantone | American comedian, writer, singer and actor (born 1959) |
| 1956 | Jean-Pierre Thiollet | French writer and journalist (born 1956) |
| 1948 | Marleen Gorris | Dutch writer and director (born 1948) |
| 1947 | Jaak Jõerüüt | Estonian writer and politician |
| 1944 | Neil Innes | English songwriter, writer, comedian, and musician (1944–2019) |
| 1944 | Ki Longfellow | American writer |
| 1943 | Joanna Trollope | English writer (1943–2025) |
| 1942 | Joe McGinniss | American writer (1942–2014) |
| 1933 | Ashleigh Brilliant | British and American epigrammatist and cartoonist (1933–2025) |
| 1931 | Ladislav Smoljak | Czech director, actor and screenwriter (1931–2010) |
| 1928 | Joan Blos | American novelist |
| 1916 | Jerome Beatty Jr. | American writer |
| 1915 | Eloise Jarvis McGraw | American author |
| 1914 | Ljubica Sokić | Ljubica Sokić, Serbian painter and illustrator (died 2009) |
| 1905 | Dalton Trumbo | American screenwriter (1905–1976) |
| 1901 | Ödön von Horváth | Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist (1901–1938) |
| 1900 | Margaret Brundage | American illustrator and painter (1900–1976) |
| 1899 | Jean de Brunhoff | French artist and writer |
| 1898 | Irene Greenwood | Australian feminist, pacifist activist, broadcaster and writer |
| 1891 | Maksim Bahdanovich | Belarusian writer |
| 1890 | Laura Salverson | Canadian author (1890 – 1970) |
| 1873 | George Blewett | Canadian rofessor, philosopher, and author (1873–1912) |
| 1867 | Gregorios Xenopoulos | Greek novelist, journalist and playwright (1867–1951) |
| 1845 | Joel Chandler Harris | American writer and journalist (1848–1908) |
| 1667 | William Whiston | English theologian, historian, translator and mathematician (1667–1752) |
| 1617 | Richard Lovelace (poet) | English writer and poet (1617–1658) |
| 1608 | John Milton | English poet and civil servant (1608–1674) |
Writers who died on December 9
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nikki Giovanni | American poet, writer and activist (1943–2024) |
| 2014 | Jože Toporišič | Jože Toporišič, Slovenian linguist and author (born 1926) |
| 2013 | Hristu Cândroveanu | Aromanian editor, literary critic and writer |
| 2012 | Patrick Moore | English astronomer, broadcaster and writer (1923–2012) |
| 2012 | Charles Rosen | American pianist and writer on music |
| 2005 | György Sándor | Hungarian pianist and writer (1912–2005) |
| 2005 | Robert Sheckley | American writer |
| 2002 | Stan Rice | American professor, poet and artist (1942–2002) |
| 1996 | Diana Morgan (screenwriter) | Welsh playwright and screenwriter (1908–1996) |
| 1995 | Toni Cade Bambara | American author, activist, professor (1939–1995) |
| 1971 | Aeneas Francon Williams | Scottish missionary, chaplain and writer (1886–1971) |
| 1964 | Edith Sitwell | British poet and critic (1887–1964) |
| 1963 | Daniel O. Fagunwa | Nigerian author |
| 1941 | Dmitry Merezhkovsky | Russian novelist (1866–1941) |
| 1932 | Begum Rokeya | Bengali feminist writer and social reformer (1880–1932) |
| 1916 | Natsume Sōseki | Japanese novelist (1867–1916) |
| 1906 | Ferdinand Brunetière | French writer and critic (1849–1906) |
| 1854 | Almeida Garrett | Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician (1799–1854) |
| 1718 | Vincenzo Coronelli | Italian Franciscan friar, cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist |
| 1636 | Fabian Birkowski | Polish writer and preacher |
| 1544 | Teofilo Folengo | Italian macaronic poet |
Literary events on December 9
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1935 | Walter Liggett, an American newspaper editor and muckraker, is killed in a gangland murder. |
| 1897 | French actress, journalist and leading suffragette Marguerite Durand founded the feminist newspaper La Fronde. |
| 1888 | The first edition of the Argosy magazine was published under the title The Golden Argosy. |
Featured
Stacey Abrams (1973) — Stacey Yvonne Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017.
Mario Cantone (1959) — Mario Cantone is an American comedian, writer, actor, singer, and television host widely known for his role as Anthony Marentino in Sex and the City (2000–2004), its revival And Just Like That... (2021–2025) and Terri in Men in Trees (2006–2008).
Jean-Pierre Thiollet (1956) — Jean-Pierre Thiollet is a French writer and journalist. He is also affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, a European trade union.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.