On this day
March 19 in literary history
Literary history for March 19: 11 writers born and 16 writers who died from 1533 to 2015. Born on this day: AJ Lee, Neil LaBute, Heather Robertson.
Writers born on March 19
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | AJ Lee | American professional wrestler and author |
| 1963 | Neil LaBute | American playwright and filmmaker (born 1963) |
| 1942 | Heather Robertson | Canadian journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer (1942–2014) |
| 1931 | Emma Andijewska | Ukrainian artist and writer (born 1931) |
| 1928 | Hans Küng | Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author (1928–2021) |
| 1920 | Kjell Aukrust | Norwegian writer and illustrator |
| 1916 | Irving Wallace | American writer (1916–1990) |
| 1844 | Minna Canth | Finnish writer and social activist (1844–1897) |
| 1824 | William Allingham | 19th-century Irish poet and scholar |
| 1821 | Richard Francis Burton | British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar (1821–1890) |
| 1721 | Tobias Smollett | Scottish writer and surgeon (1721–1771) |
Writers who died on March 19
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Safet Plakalo | Bosnian writer (1950–2015) |
| 2014 | Heather Robertson | Canadian journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer (1942–2014) |
| 2008 | Arthur C. Clarke | English science fiction writer (1917–2008) |
| 2008 | Hugo Claus | Belgian author (1929–2008) |
| 2000 | Shafiq-ur-Rahman (humorist) | Pakistani humorist, physician and writer (1920-2000) |
| 1997 | Eugène Guillevic | French poet |
| 1996 | Virginia Henderson | American nurse and writer |
| 1976 | Albert Dieudonné | French actor, screenwriter, film director, and novelist |
| 1950 | Edgar Rice Burroughs | American writer (1875–1950) |
| 1948 | Maud Howe Elliott | American writer (1854–1948) |
| 1919 | Emma Bell Miles | American poet |
| 1884 | Elias Lönnrot | Finnish polymath and poet (1802–1884) |
| 1683 | Thomas Killigrew | English dramatist and theatre manager (1612–1683) |
| 1563 | Arthur Brooke (poet) | English poet (died 1563) |
| 1534 | Michael Weiße | German theologian and hymn writer |
| 1533 | John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners | English soldier, statesman and translator (1467–1533) |
Featured
AJ Lee (1987) — April Jeanette Mendez is an American professional wrestler and author. As a wrestler, she has been signed to WWE since September 2025, where she performs under the ring name AJ Lee.
Neil LaBute (1963) — Neil N. LaBute is an American playwright, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for a play which he wrote and later adapted for film, In the Company of Men (1997), winning awards from the Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the New York Film Critics Circle.
Heather Robertson (1942) — Heather Margaret Robertson was a Canadian journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer. She published her first book, Reservations are for Indians, in 1970, and her last book, Walking into Wilderness, in 2010.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.