February 4 in Literary History: Writers Born & Died

Writers born on February 4

Born	Writer	Known as
1960	Siobhan Dowd	English writer and activist (1960–2007)
1960	Jonathan Larson	American composer, lyricist and playwright (1960–1996)
1958	Tomasz Pacyński	Polish fantasy and science fiction author
1952	Lisa Eichhorn	American actress, writer, producer (born 1952)
1937	David Newman (screenwriter)	American screenwriter (1937–2003)
1936	Gary Conway	American actor and screenwriter
1932	Robert Coover	American novelist (1932–2024)
1925	Russell Hoban	American writer (1925–2011)
1921	Betty Friedan	American feminist writer and activist (1921–2006)
1914	Alfred Andersch	German writer, publisher, and radio editor (1914–1980)
1908	Julian Bell	British poet (1908-1937)
1900	Jacques Prévert	French poet and screenwriter (1900–1977)
1896	Friedrich Glauser	Swiss writer
1892	E. J. Pratt	Canadian poet (1882–1964)
1862	Édouard Estaunié	French novelist
1849	Jean Richepin	French poet, novelist and dramatist (1849–1926)
1848	Jean Aicard	French poet, dramatist and novelist (1848–1921)
1799	Almeida Garrett	Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician (1799–1854)
1740	Carl Michael Bellman	Swedish poet, songwriter and composer (1740–1795)
1688	Pierre de Marivaux	French playwright and novelist (1688–1763)
1646	Hans Erasmus Aßmann	Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (died 1699)
1505	Mikołaj Rej	Polish poet and writer (1505–1569)

Writers who died on February 4

Died	Writer	Known as
2017	Bano Qudsia	Pakistani writer (1928–2017)
2014	Eugenio Corti	Italian writer (1921–2014)
2012	István Csurka	Hungarian politician and writer (1934–2012)
2007	Ilya Kormiltsev	Russian writer (1959–2007)
2007	Alfred Worm	Alfred Worm, Austrian journalist, author, and academic (born 1945)
2006	Betty Friedan	American feminist writer and activist (1921–2006)
2005	Ossie Davis	American actor, director, writer, and activist (1917–2005)
2004	Hilda Hilst	Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright
1995	Patricia Highsmith	American novelist (1921–1995)
1970	Louise Bogan	American poet (1897–1970)
1968	Neal Cassady	American writer (1926–1968)
1958	Henry Kuttner	American fiction author (1915–1958)
1944	Arsen Kotsoyev	Ossetian writer (1872–1944)
1713	Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury	English politician, philosopher and writer (1671–1713)
1508	Conrad Celtes	German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet (1459–1508)
856	Rabanus Maurus	Archbishop of Mainz and writer (d. 856)

Year	Event
1974	American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined.

Year

Event

1974

American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined.

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Siobhan Dowd (1960) — Siobhan Dowd was a British writer and activist. The last book she completed, Bog Child, posthumously won the 2009 Carnegie Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best book for children or young adults published in the UK.

Jonathan Larson (1960) — Jonathan David Larson was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals Rent and Tick, Tick... Boom!, which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia.

Tomasz Pacyński (1958) — Tomasz Pacyński was a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer, born in Warsaw. He was one of the creators and, from 2004, the chief editor of Fahrenheit, the first Polish Internet science fiction fanzine.

February 4 in literary history

Writers born on February 4

Writers who died on February 4

Literary events on February 4

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Sources & data