On this day
May 1 in literary history
Literary history for May 1: 22 writers born, 7 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1672 to 2014. Born on this day: Yasmina Reza, Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author), Terry Southern.
Writers born on May 1
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Yasmina Reza | French actor and writer (born 1959) |
| 1954 | Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author) | Canadian American author and activist (1954–2011) |
| 1924 | Terry Southern | American writer (1924–1995) |
| 1923 | Joseph Heller | American writer (1923–1999) |
| 1921 | Vladimir Colin | Romanian writer (1921–1991) |
| 1918 | Jack Paar | American writer and comedian (1918–2004) |
| 1909 | Yiannis Ritsos | Greek poet and communist (1909–1990) |
| 1908 | Giovannino Guareschi | Italian journalist, cartoonist, and humorist (1908–1968) |
| 1901 | Sterling Allen Brown | American poet and academic (1901–1989) |
| 1901 | Antal Szerb | Hungarian scholar and writer (1901–1945) |
| 1900 | Ignazio Silone | Italian politician and writer (1900–1978) |
| 1900 | Aleksander Wat | Polish poet, writer, art theoretician, memoirist |
| 1891 | Lillian Estelle Fisher | 20th-century American historian and author |
| 1885 | Clément Pansaers | Belgian poet and artist (1885–1922) |
| 1862 | Marcel Prévost | French novelist and dramatist (1862–1941) |
| 1853 | Jacob Gordin | American dramatist (1853–1909) |
| 1830 | Guido Gezelle | Belgian writer, poet and Roman Catholic priest (1830–1899) |
| 1829 | José de Alencar | Brazilian writer, lawyer, and politician (1829–1877) |
| 1811 | Andreas Laskaratos | Greek satirical poet and writer |
| 1803 | James Clarence Mangan | Irish poet (1803–1849) |
| 1751 | Judith Sargent Murray | American writer and poet (1751–1820) |
| 1672 | Joseph Addison | British writer and politician (1672–1719) |
Writers who died on May 1
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Assi Dayan | Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter and producer (1945–2014) |
| 1997 | Fernand Dumont | Canadian sociologist, philosopher, theologian and poet (1927–1997) |
| 1985 | Denise Robins | English novelist (1897–1985) |
| 1976 | Alexandros Panagoulis | Greek politician and poet (1939–1976) |
| 1973 | Asger Jorn | Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author (1914–1973) |
| 1968 | Harold Nicolson | British diplomat, author, diarist and politician (1886–1968) |
| 1963 | Lope K. Santos | Filipino writer and politician (1879–1963) |
Literary events on May 1
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1950 | Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. |
| 1753 | Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. |
Featured
Yasmina Reza (1959) — Yasmina Reza is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays 'Art' and God of Carnage. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues.
Joel Rosenberg (science fiction author) (1954) — Joel Rosenberg was a Canadian American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his long-running Guardians of the Flame series. Rosenberg was also a gun rights activist.
Terry Southern (1924) — Terry Southern was an American novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and university lecturer, noted for his distinctive satirical style.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.