On this day
May 17 in literary history
Literary history for May 17: 18 writers born, 18 writers who died and 3 literary events from 1155 to 2019. Born on this day: Davor Džalto, Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Dave Sim.
18writers born
18writers died
3literary events
Writers born on May 17
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Davor Džalto | Orthodox thinker and writer |
| 1962 | Lise Lyng Falkenberg | Danish writer |
| 1956 | Dave Sim | Canadian cartoonist and publisher (born 1956) |
| 1950 | Howard Ashman | American playwright, lyricist, and director (1950–1991) |
| 1943 | Johnny Warren | Australian soccer player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster (1943–2004) |
| 1939 | Gary Paulsen | American writer (1939–2021) |
| 1935 | Dennis Potter | British dramatist and screenwriter (1935–1994) |
| 1932 | Rodric Braithwaite | British diplomat and author |
| 1913 | Hans Ruesch | Swiss racing driver, novelist, and activist (1913–2007) |
| 1904 | Marie-Anne Desmarest | French writer (1904–1973) |
| 1889 | Alfonso Reyes | Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat (1889–1959) |
| 1873 | Henri Barbusse | French novelist and writer (1873–1935) |
| 1873 | Dorothy Richardson | British author and journalist (1873–1957) |
| 1860 | Martin Kukučín | Slovak prose writer, dramatist and publicist |
| 1845 | Jacint Verdaguer | Catalan writer & poet (1845–1902) |
| 1836 | Virginie Loveling | Flemish author |
| 1794 | Anna Brownell Jameson | Irish-born English writer (1794–1860) |
| 1155 | Jien | Japanese poet |
Writers who died on May 17
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Herman Wouk | American writer (1915–2019) |
| 2009 | Mario Benedetti | Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet (1920–2009) |
| 2007 | Lloyd Alexander | American writer (1924–2007) |
| 2007 | T. K. Doraiswamy | Indian writer (1921–2007) |
| 2004 | Jørgen Nash | Danish artist, writer, and Situationist theoretician (1920–2004) |
| 2002 | Aşık Mahzuni Şerif | Turkish musician and poet (1940–2002) |
| 2001 | Frank G. Slaughter | American novelist |
| 1985 | Abe Burrows | American writer, director and humorist (1910–1985) |
| 1964 | Nandor Fodor | British and American parapsychologist, psychoanalyst, author and journalist |
| 1960 | Jules Supervielle | Franco-Uruguayan poet and writer (1884–1960) |
| 1943 | Johanna Elberskirchen | German writer (1864–1943) |
| 1919 | Guido von List | Austrian occultist and writer (1848–1919) |
| 1888 | Giacomo Zanella | Italian poet |
| 1880 | Ziya Pasha | Ottoman writer, translator and administrator |
| 1839 | Archibald Alison (author) | Scottish Anglican priest and essayist |
| 1797 | Michel-Jean Sedaine | French dramatist and librettist |
| 1558 | Francisco de Sá de Miranda | Portuguese poet (1481–1558) |
| 1551 | Shin Saimdang | Korean calligraphist and poet (1504–1551) |
Literary events on May 17
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1900 | The children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author's sister. |
| 1900 | The first copies of the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum were printed. |
| 1863 | Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language. |
Featured
Davor Džalto (1980) — Davor Džalto is an artist, art historian, theologian and philosopher of Bosnian-Herzegovinian origin.
Lise Lyng Falkenberg (1962) — Lise Lyng Falkenberg is a Danish writer of mostly fiction, biographies and works of literary studies.
Dave Sim (1956) — Dave Sim is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book Cerebus, his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical beliefs.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.