On this day
May 13 in literary history
Literary history for May 13: 18 writers born, 11 writers who died and 3 literary events from 1373 to 2024. Born on this day: Lena Dunham, Stephen Colbert, Richard Madeley.
Writers born on May 13
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Lena Dunham | American writer and actress (born 1986) |
| 1964 | Stephen Colbert | American comedian, writer and television host (born 1964) |
| 1956 | Richard Madeley | English television presenter and writer (born 1957) |
| 1952 | John Kasich | American politician and author (born 1952) |
| 1952 | Mary Walsh (actress) | Canadian actress, comedian, and writer (born 1952) |
| 1946 | Tim Pigott-Smith | British actor and author (1946–2017) |
| 1946 | Marv Wolfman | American comic book writer (born 1946) |
| 1944 | Armistead Maupin | American writer (born 1944) |
| 1940 | Bruce Chatwin | English writer, novelist and journalist (1940–1989) |
| 1937 | Roger Zelazny | American writer and poet (1937–1995) |
| 1927 | Clive Barnes | English writer and critic (1927–2008) |
| 1907 | Daphne du Maurier | English novelist (1907–1989) |
| 1904 | Earle Birney | Canadian poet (1904–1995) |
| 1895 | Nandor Fodor | British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist |
| 1884 | Oskar Rosenfeld | Austrian writer and journalist |
| 1881 | Lima Barreto | Brazilian writer (1881–1922) |
| 1840 | Alphonse Daudet | French novelist (1840–1897) |
| 1832 | Juris Alunāns | Latvian writer and philologist (1832-1864) |
Writers who died on May 13
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Alice Munro | Canadian short story writer (1931–2024) |
| 2024 | Samm-Art Williams | American playwright and screenwriter (1946–2024) |
| 2014 | Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart | American writer and Neopagan priestess (1948–2014) |
| 2001 | Jason Miller (playwright) | American actor and playwright (1939–2001) |
| 1985 | Richard Ellmann | American writer and literary critic (1918–1987) |
| 1974 | Jaime Torres Bodet | Mexican politician and writer (1902–1974) |
| 1974 | Arthur J. Burks | American novelist and pulp-fiction author (1898–1974) |
| 1947 | Sukanta Bhattacharya | Bengali poet and revolutionary (1926–1947) |
| 1921 | Jean Aicard | French poet, dramatist and novelist (1848–1921) |
| 1916 | Sholem Aleichem | Yiddish author and playwright (1859–1916) |
| 1726 | Francesco Antonio Pistocchi | Italian singer, composer and librettist (1659–1726) |
Literary events on May 13
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1945 | World War II: Yevgeny Khaldei's photograph Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is published in Ogonyok magazine. |
| 1373 | Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love. |
| 1373 | The English mystic Julian of Norwich recovered from a severe illness during which she experienced a series of intense visions of Christ, which she later described in the first known English-language book written by a woman. |
Featured
Lena Dunham (1986) — Lena Dunham is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series Girls (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Awards.
Stephen Colbert (1964) — Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the Comedy Central news satire show The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014, and the CBS late-night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2026.
Richard Madeley (1956) — Richard Holt Madeley is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented ITV's This Morning and Channel 4 chat show Richard & Judy (2001–2008).
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.