On this day
May 21 in literary history
Literary history for May 21: 18 writers born, 13 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1563 to 2019. Born on this day: Elena Huelva, James Phelan (novelist), Ilmar Raag.
Writers born on May 21
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Elena Huelva | Spanish influencer and writer (2002–2023) |
| 1979 | James Phelan (novelist) | Australian writer |
| 1968 | Ilmar Raag | Estonian screenwriter and film director |
| 1963 | Richard Appel | American writer and producer (born 1963) |
| 1959 | Nick Cassavetes | American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1959) |
| 1958 | Michael Crick | English broadcaster, journalist and author (born 1958) |
| 1948 | Elizabeth Buchan | British novelist |
| 1944 | Janet Dailey | American writer |
| 1934 | Jocasta Innes | British writer and journalist (1934–2013) |
| 1926 | Robert Creeley | American poet (1926–2005) |
| 1923 | Dorothy Hewett | Australian feminist poet, playwright and novelist (1923–2002) |
| 1916 | Harold Robbins | American author (1916–1997) |
| 1914 | Romain Gary | French writer and diplomat (1914–1980) |
| 1903 | Manly Wade Wellman | American novelist (1903–1986) |
| 1901 | Regina M. Anderson | American playwright and librarian |
| 1901 | Suzanne Lilar | Belgian essayist, novelist (1901–1992) |
| 1884 | Manuel Pérez y Curis | Uruguayan poet |
| 1880 | Tudor Arghezi | Romanian writer and political figure (1880–1967) |
Writers who died on May 21
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Binyavanga Wainaina | Kenyan writer and editor (1971–2019) |
| 2013 | Dominique Venner | French journalist and essayist |
| 2006 | Cherd Songsri | Thai film director, screenwriter and film producer |
| 2000 | Barbara Cartland | English writer and media personality (1901–2000) |
| 1970 | E. L. Grant Watson | American biologist and writer (1885–1970) |
| 1949 | Klaus Mann | German writer and dissident (1906–1949) |
| 1932 | Marcel Boulenger | French fencer and writer |
| 1926 | Ronald Firbank | English novelist (1886–1926) |
| 1790 | Thomas Warton | 18th-century English literary historian, critic, and poet |
| 1771 | Christopher Smart | English poet (1722–1771) |
| 1647 | Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft | Dutch historian and writer (1581–1647) |
| 1639 | Tommaso Campanella | Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet (1568–1639) |
| 1563 | Martynas Mažvydas | Lithuanian writer (1510–1563) |
Literary events on May 21
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1703 | English writer Daniel Defoe was imprisoned for seditious libel after publishing a pamphlet that was perceived to satirise the Tory publications about Dissenters. |
Featured
Elena Huelva (2002) — Elena Huelva Palomo was a Spanish cancer activist, influencer, and writer. Through her regular use of social media, she divulged information about Ewing sarcoma, the type of cancer she was suffering from, to a wider audience, and demanded more investment for cancer research.
James Phelan (novelist) (1979) — James Clancy Phelan (born 21 May 1979, is an Australian writer of thrillers and young adult novels, including Fox Hunt, The Last 13 series for teens, and the Jed Walker and Lachlan Fox thrillers. He has also written short stories and the non-fiction book Literati.
Ilmar Raag (1968) — Ilmar Raag is an Estonian politician, security expert, screenwriter and film director, best known for his socio-critical film The Class. He was CEO of Estonian Television from 2002 to 2005. He is a well known columnist in many prestigious Estonian newspapers.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.