On this day

February 6 in literary history

Literary history for February 6: 29 writers born and 14 writers who died from 1453 to 2025. Born on this day: David Hayter, Jan Svěrák, Gord Downie.

29writers born
14writers died
0literary events

Writers born on February 6

BornWriterKnown as
1969David HayterCanadian and American actor and screenwriter (born 1969)
1965Jan SvěrákCzech film director and screenwriter (born 1965)
1964Gord DownieCanadian musician and writer (1964–2017)
1955Michael PollanAmerican author and journalist (born 1955)
1952Viktor GiacobboSwiss writer, comedian and actor (born 1952)
1945Michael Tucker (actor)American actor, author, and producer (born 1945)
1942James W. LoewenAmerican sociologist, historian, and author (1942–2021)
1940Tom BrokawAmerican broadcast journalist and author (born 1940)
1939Jean BeaudinCanadian film director and screenwriter (1939–2019)
1929Óscar Sambrano UrdanetaOscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan author and critic (died 2011)
1927Gerard K. O'NeillAmerican physicist, author, and inventor (1927–1992)
1925Pramoedya Ananta ToerIndonesian novelist and writer (1925–2006)
1924Jin YongChinese-language wuxia novelist (1924–2018)
1922Denis NordenEnglish writer and television presenter (1922–2018)
1918Lothar-Günther BuchheimGerman author and artist (1918–2007)
1910Irmgard KeunGerman author
1908Geo BogzaRomanian avant-garde theorist, poet and journalist (1908 - 1993)
1908Michael MalteseAmerican screenwriter and storyboard artist (1908–1981)
1906Joseph SchullCanadian playwright and historian
1905Jan WerichCzech actor, playwright, and writer (1905–1980)
1894Eric Partridge20th-century New Zealand-born lexicographer, editor, and author (1894–1979)
1864John Henry MackayGerman anarchist writer (1864–1933)
1843Frederic W. H. MyersEnglish poet and essayist (1843–1901)
1834Wilhelm von ScherffWilhelm von Scherff, German general and author (died 1911)
1833José María de PeredaModern Spanish novelist (1833–1906)
1778Ugo FoscoloItalian writer, revolutionary and poet (1778–1827)
1758Julian Ursyn NiemcewiczPolish poet, playwright and statesman (1758–1841)
1753Évariste de ParnyFrench Rococo poet (1753–1814)
1453Girolamo BenivieniItalian poet

Writers who died on February 6

DiedWriterKnown as
2025Nigel McCreryEnglish screenwriter, producer and writer (1953–2025)
2019Rosamunde PilcherBritish novelist (1924–2019)
2016Dan GersonAmerican screenwriter and voice actor (1966–2016)
2015André BrinkSouth African writer (1935–2015)
2015Pedro León ZapataVenezuelan artist, humorist and cartoonist
2014Maxine KuminAmerican poet and author (1925–2014)
2000Hani al-RahibSyrian novelist (1939–2000)
1995James MerrillAmerican poet (1926–1995)
1989Barbara W. TuchmanAmerican historian and author (1912–1989)
1985James Hadley ChaseEnglish author (1906–1985)
1976Ritwik GhatakIndian Bengali filmmaker and script writer (1925–1976)
1916Rubén DaríoNicaraguan poet, journalist and writer (1867–1916)
1865Isabella BeetonEnglish journalist, publisher and writer (1836–1865)
1793Carlo GoldoniItalian playwright (1707–1793)

Featured

David Hayter (1969) — David Bryan Hayter is a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well known as the English-language voice actor for Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the Metal Gear video game series. He wrote the superhero film X-Men (2000), for which he won the Saturn Award for Best Writing.

Jan Svěrák (1965) — Jan Svěrák is a Czech film director and screenwriter. He is the son of screenwriter and actor Zdeněk Svěrák, with whom he collaborated on his most successful films. He is among the most recognised Czech filmmakers. His best-known films are the Oscar-winning Kolya and the Oscar-nominated The Elementary School.

Gord Downie (1964) — Gordon Edgar Downie was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer, poet, and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017.

Sources & data

  • Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.