On this day
February 25 in literary history
Literary history for February 25: 18 writers born, 21 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1543 to 2025. Born on this day: Chelsea Handler, John Doe (musician), Neil Jordan.
Writers born on February 25
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Chelsea Handler | American comedian, actress, writer, and producer (born 1975) |
| 1953 | John Doe (musician) | American singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist and bass player (born 1953) |
| 1950 | Neil Jordan | Irish filmmaker and writer (born 1950) |
| 1949 | Amin Maalouf | Lebanese-born French author (born 1949) |
| 1928 | Larry Gelbart | American comedy writer and playwright (1928–2009) |
| 1928 | Richard G. Stern | American novelist |
| 1917 | Anthony Burgess | English writer and composer (1917–1993) |
| 1908 | Frank G. Slaughter | American novelist |
| 1907 | Sabahattin Ali | Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist (1907-1948) |
| 1906 | Mary Chase (playwright) | American dramatist (1906-1981) |
| 1871 | Lesya Ukrainka | Ukrainian poet and writer (1871–1913) |
| 1855 | Cesário Verde | Portuguese poet (1855–1896) |
| 1842 | Karl May | German author (1842–1912) |
| 1806 | Emma Catherine Embury | American author and poet |
| 1707 | Carlo Goldoni | Italian playwright (1707–1793) |
| 1663 | Peter Anthony Motteux | English author, playwright, and translator (1663–1718) |
| 1591 | Friedrich Spee | German Jesuit priest, professor and poet (1591–1635) |
| 1543 | Sharafkhan Bidlisi | Kurdish noble and writer (1543-c.1603) |
Writers who died on February 25
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Roberto Orci | American screenwriter and producer (1973–2025) |
| 2023 | Gordon Pinsent | Canadian actor and writer (1930–2023) |
| 2022 | Shirley Hughes | English illustrator and author (1927–2022) |
| 2015 | Harve Bennett | American screenwriter, producer (1930–2015) |
| 2001 | A. R. Ammons | American poet (1926–2001) |
| 1998 | W. O. Mitchell | Canadian writer and radio personality (1914–1998) |
| 1997 | Andrei Sinyavsky | Soviet Russian literary critic, writer and dissident |
| 1983 | Tennessee Williams | American playwright (1911–1983) |
| 1980 | Robert Hayden | American poet and academic (1913–1980) |
| 1964 | Grace Metalious | American-French writer (1924–1964) |
| 1957 | Mark Aldanov | Russian writer and critic |
| 1945 | Mário de Andrade | Brazilian writer, musicologist and photographer (1893–1945) |
| 1914 | John Tenniel | British illustrator and cartoonist (1820–1914) |
| 1911 | Friedrich Spielhagen | German novelist, literary theorist and translator |
| 1870 | Henrik Hertz | Danish poet (1797–1870) |
| 1865 | Otto Ludwig (writer) | German dramatist, novelist and critic (1813–1865) |
| 1852 | Thomas Moore | Irish poet, singer and songwriter (1779–1852) |
| 1819 | Francisco Manoel de Nascimento | Portuguese poet |
| 1756 | Eliza Haywood | English novelist and painter (c. 1693 – 1756) |
| 1655 | Daniel Heinsius | Dutch scholar and poet (1580-1655) |
| 1547 | Vittoria Colonna | Italian poet and noble |
Literary events on February 25
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Hong Kong–based writer and publisher Gui Minhai, known for writing about Chinese Communist Party politicians, was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for intelligence violations. |
Featured
Chelsea Handler (1975) — Chelsea Joy Handler is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, Chelsea Does, on Netflix in January 2016.
John Doe (musician) (1953) — John Nommensen Duchac, known professionally as John Doe, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist and bass player. Doe co-founded LA punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk, country and folk music genres.
Neil Jordan (1950) — Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and writer. His short story collection, Night in Tunisia, won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. After a stint working at RTÉ, he made his directorial debut with the 1982 film Angel.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.