On this day
February 2 in literary history
Literary history for February 2: 29 writers born, 14 writers who died and 4 literary events from 1529 to 2023. Born on this day: Adam Christopher, Jennifer Westfeldt, Philippe Claudel.
29writers born
14writers died
4literary events
Writers born on February 2
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Adam Christopher | New Zealand novelist |
| 1970 | Jennifer Westfeldt | American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1970) |
| 1962 | Philippe Claudel | French writer and film director (born 1962) |
| 1958 | Michel Marc Bouchard | Canadian playwright |
| 1955 | Leszek Engelking | Polish writer, literary expert and translator (1955–2022) |
| 1955 | Bob Schreck | American comic book writer and editor (born 1955) |
| 1950 | Libby Purves | British writer and broadcaster (born 1950) |
| 1949 | Duncan Bannatyne | Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author (born 1949) |
| 1940 | Thomas M. Disch | American sci-fi writer and poet (1940–2008) |
| 1937 | Anthony Haden-Guest | British writer and artist (born 1937) |
| 1931 | Judith Viorst | American writer |
| 1923 | James Dickey | American poet and novelist (1923–1997) |
| 1923 | Liz Smith (journalist) | American writer (1923–2017) |
| 1918 | Hella Haasse | Dutch writer (1918–2011) |
| 1916 | Xuân Diệu | Vietnamese poet, journalist, and literary critic |
| 1915 | Khushwant Singh | Indian writer (1915–2014) |
| 1904 | Bozorg Alavi | Writer, novelist and activist (1904–1997) |
| 1890 | Charles Correll | American comedian, actor and writer (1890–1972) |
| 1886 | William Rose Benét | American writer |
| 1883 | Johnston McCulley | American author, creator of the character Zorro (1883–1958) |
| 1883 | Julia Nava de Ruisánchez | Mexican activist, writer |
| 1882 | James Joyce | Irish novelist and poet (1882–1941) |
| 1877 | Frank L. Packard | Canadian novelist |
| 1869 | Alexander Atabekian | Armenian anarchist writer (1868–1933) |
| 1849 | Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav | Slovak poet |
| 1829 | Alfred Brehm | German zoologist and writer (1829–1884) |
| 1621 | Johannes Schefferus | Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (died 1679) |
| 1600 | Gabriel Naudé | French librarian, scholar and writer (1600–1653) |
| 1536 | Piotr Skarga | Polish Jesuit and writer (1536–1612) |
Writers who died on February 2
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | K. Viswanath | Indian director, screenwriter, and actor (1930–2023) |
| 2015 | Stewart Stern | American screenwriter (1922-2015) |
| 2014 | Eduardo Coutinho | Brazilian film director, screen writer, actor and film producer |
| 2012 | Joyce Barkhouse | Canadian writer (1913–2012) |
| 2012 | Dorothy Gilman | American novelist |
| 2008 | Katoucha Niane | Guinean model, activist and author |
| 2002 | Claude Brown | American writer (1937–2002) |
| 1987 | Alistair MacLean | Scottish writer (1922–1987) |
| 1972 | Natalie Clifford Barney | American playwright, poet and novelist (1876–1972) |
| 1954 | Hella Wuolijoki | Estonian-born Finnish writer |
| 1942 | Daniil Kharms | Russian writer (1905–1942) |
| 1939 | Amanda McKittrick Ros | Irish writer |
| 1648 | George Abbot (author) | English religious writer and politician (1604–1649) |
| 1529 | Baldassare Castiglione | Italian Renaissance author (1478–1529) |
Literary events on February 2
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1922 | Ulysses by James Joyce is published. |
| 1870 | The Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä), a novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, is published first time in several thin booklets. |
| 1709 | Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe. |
| 1709 | Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by English captain Woodes Rogers and his crew after spending four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Pacific, providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. |
Featured
Adam Christopher (1978) — Adam Christopher McGechan, who writes under the name Adam Christopher, is a New York Times Bestselling novelist known for his genre fiction. Born in New Zealand, he moved to North West England in 2006, where he lives with his wife.
Jennifer Westfeldt (1970) — Jennifer Westfeldt is an American actress, director, screenwriter, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film Kissing Jessica Stein, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay.
Philippe Claudel (1962) — Philippe Claudel is a French writer and film director.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.