On this day
February 17 in literary history
Literary history for February 17: 17 writers born and 10 writers who died from 1673 to 2016. Born on this day: Mo Yan, Shahrnush Parsipur, Ruth Rendell.
17writers born
10writers died
0literary events
Writers born on February 17
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Mo Yan | Chinese author (born 1955) |
| 1946 | Shahrnush Parsipur | Iranian writer and translator (1946–2026) |
| 1930 | Ruth Rendell | English writer (1930–2015) |
| 1929 | Chaim Potok | American author and rabbi (1929–2002) |
| 1924 | Margaret Truman | American soprano, writer and daughter of President Harry S. Truman (1924–2008) |
| 1918 | William Bronk | American poet (1918–1999) |
| 1912 | Andre Norton | American science fiction and fantasy writer (1912–2005) |
| 1903 | Sadegh Hedayat | Iranian writer (1903–1951) |
| 1899 | Jibanananda Das | Bengali poet of the modern period |
| 1888 | Ronald Knox | English Catholic priest and author (1888–1957) |
| 1879 | Dorothy Canfield Fisher | American author and social activist (1879–1958) |
| 1877 | Isabelle Eberhardt | Swiss explorer and writer |
| 1864 | Banjo Paterson | Australian journalist, author, and poet (1864–1941) |
| 1862 | Mori Ōgai | Japanese writer (1862–1922) |
| 1848 | Louisa Lawson | Australian writer and suffragist (1848–1920) |
| 1836 | Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer | Spanish poet and writer (1836–1870) |
| 1752 | Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger | German dramatist and novelist (1752–1831) |
Writers who died on February 17
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Claude Jeancolas | French writer, art historian and journalist (1949–2016) |
| 1998 | Ernst Jünger | German soldier and author (1895–1998) |
| 1994 | Randy Shilts | American journalist and writer (1951–1994) |
| 1986 | Jiddu Krishnamurti | Spiritual speaker and writer (1895–1986) |
| 1970 | Shmuel Yosef Agnon | Israeli writer and Nobel laureate |
| 1963 | Mate Balota | Croatian playwright |
| 1856 | Heinrich Heine | German writer and literary critic (1797–1856) |
| 1854 | John Martin (painter) | English painter, engraver and illustrator (1789–1854) |
| 1715 | Antoine Galland | French orientalist, numismatist and translator (1646–1715) |
| 1673 | Molière | French playwright and actor (1622–1673) |
Featured
Mo Yan (1955) — Mo Yan, born Guan Moye, is a Chinese writer. He gained attention for his 1984 novella, A Transparent Radish, and rose to international fame for his 1986 novel Red Sorghum, the first two parts of which were adapted into the Golden Bear-winning film Red Sorghum (1988).
Shahrnush Parsipur (1946) — Shahrnush Parsipur was an Iranian writer and translator.
Ruth Rendell (1930) — Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.