On this day
January 3 in literary history
Literary history for January 3: 18 writers born, 17 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1501 to 2025. Born on this day: Danica McKellar, Dan Harmon, Alex Wheatle.
Writers born on January 3
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Danica McKellar | American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate (born 1975) |
| 1973 | Dan Harmon | American screenwriter (born 1973) |
| 1963 | Alex Wheatle | British writer (1963–2025) |
| 1953 | Justin Fleming (author) | Australian playwright, screenwriter and author (born 1953) |
| 1944 | Blanche d'Alpuget | Australian writer and activist (1944–2026) |
| 1937 | Glen A. Larson | American television producer and writer (1937–2014) |
| 1933 | Anne Stevenson | British-American poet (1933–2020) |
| 1930 | Stephen Fabian | American illustrator (1930–2025) |
| 1917 | Roger Williams Straus Jr. | American publisher (1917–2004) |
| 1912 | Armand Lohikoski | Finnish American film director and screenwriter (1912–2005) |
| 1898 | Carolyn Haywood | American writer |
| 1892 | J. R. R. Tolkien | English writer and philologist (1892–1973) |
| 1886 | John Gould Fletcher | American poet and winner of the Pulitzer |
| 1870 | Henry Handel Richardson | Australian author (1870–1946) |
| 1855 | Hubert Bland | English author |
| 1853 | Sophie Elkan | Swedish writer and translator (1853-1921) |
| 1803 | Douglas William Jerrold | English dramatist and writer (1803–1857) |
| 1698 | Pietro Metastasio | Italian poet and librettist (1698–1782) |
Writers who died on January 3
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jeff Baena | American screenwriter and film director (1977–2025) |
| 2023 | Elena Huelva | Spanish influencer and writer (2002–2023) |
| 2021 | Eric Jerome Dickey | American author (1961–2021) |
| 2014 | George Goodman | American author, broadcaster (1930–2014) |
| 2012 | Winifred Milius Lubell | American illustrator and writer |
| 2012 | Josef Škvorecký | Czech-Canadian writer and publisher (1924–2012) |
| 1988 | Rose Ausländer | Jewish poet and author (1901–1988) |
| 1980 | Joy Adamson | Naturalist, artist and author (1910–1980) |
| 1980 | George Sutherland Fraser | British poet |
| 1960 | Eric P. Kelly | American writer |
| 1959 | Edwin Muir | Scottish writer (1887-1959) |
| 1944 | Jurgis Baltrušaitis | Lithuanian poet (1897–1944) |
| 1923 | Jaroslav Hašek | Czech humorist, satirist, writer and anarchist (1883–1923) |
| 1915 | James Elroy Flecker | British poet |
| 1911 | Alexandros Papadiamantis | Greek writer (1851-1911) |
| 1882 | William Harrison Ainsworth | English novelist (1805–1882) |
| 1501 | Ali-Shir Nava'i | Turkic poet and politician (1441–1501) |
Literary events on January 3
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1749 | The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published. |
| 1749 | The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, was published. |
Featured
Danica McKellar (1975) — Danica McKellar (born January 3, 1975) is an American actress, mathematics writer, and education advocate. She is best known for playing Winnie Cooper in the television series The Wonder Years. She has appeared in various television films for the Hallmark Channel.
Dan Harmon (1973) — Daniel James Harmon is an American television writer, producer, and actor.
Alex Wheatle (1963) — Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE was a British novelist. He was brought up in a children's care home from the age of two, his education subsequently suffering from numerous suspensions and expulsions from school.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.