On this day
May 23 in literary history
Literary history for May 23: 21 writers born, 11 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1606 to 2024. Born on this day: Guinevere Turner, Mitch Albom, Jane Kenyon.
Writers born on May 23
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Guinevere Turner | American actress and screenwriter |
| 1958 | Mitch Albom | American author and journalist (born 1958) |
| 1947 | Jane Kenyon | American poet, translator |
| 1945 | Padmarajan | Indian film maker and author |
| 1941 | Zalman King | American director, writer, producer, actor (1941–2012) |
| 1935 | Lasse Strömstedt | Swedish writer (1935–2009) |
| 1933 | Joan Collins | English actress and writer (born 1933) |
| 1932 | Kevork Ajemian | Lebanese-Armenian writer |
| 1931 | Barbara Barrie | American actress and author (1931–2026) |
| 1930 | Friedrich Achleitner | Austrian poet and architecture critic (1930–2019) |
| 1924 | Karlheinz Deschner | German writer and activist (1924–2014) |
| 1919 | Robert Bernstein (comics) | American writer (1919–1988) |
| 1914 | Celestine Sibley | American writer (1914–1999) |
| 1910 | Margaret Wise Brown | American writer (1910–1952) |
| 1908 | Annemarie Schwarzenbach | Swiss writer, journalist and photographer (1908–1942) |
| 1898 | Scott O'Dell | American writer (1898–1989) |
| 1891 | Pär Lagerkvist | Swedish writer (1891-1974) |
| 1888 | Adriaan Roland Holst | Dutch writer (1888–1976) |
| 1810 | Margaret Fuller | American writer and women's activist (1810–1850) |
| 1729 | Giuseppe Parini | Italian poet (1729–1799) |
| 1606 | Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz | Spanish philosopher, writer, mathematician and Catholic clergyman (1606–1682) |
Writers who died on May 23
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Caleb Carr | American military historian and author (1955–2024) |
| 2021 | Eric Carle | American author and illustrator (1929–2021) |
| 2010 | Simon Monjack | English screenwriter, film director and producer (1970–2010) |
| 2008 | Utah Phillips | American labor organizer, folk singer, and poet (1935–2008) |
| 1994 | Olav H. Hauge | Norwegian horticulturist, translator and poet |
| 1981 | Rayner Heppenstall | British novelist, poet, diarist, and a BBC radio producer |
| 1963 | August Jakobson | Estonian writer and politician |
| 1956 | Gustav Suits | Estonian poet |
| 1947 | Charles Ferdinand Ramuz | Swiss writer (1878–1947) |
| 1908 | François Coppée | French poet and novelist (1842–1908) |
| 1906 | Henrik Ibsen | Norwegian playwright (1828–1906) |
Literary events on May 23
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1911 | The New York Public Library is dedicated. |
| 1895 | Backed by Samuel J. Tilden, the Astor Library and the Lenox Library agreed to merge and form the New York Public Library. |
Featured
Guinevere Turner (1968) — Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She wrote the films American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the Perverted.
Mitch Albom (1958) — Mitchell David Albom is an American author, sports journalist, talk show host, and philanthropist. As of 2021, his books are reported to have sold 40 million copies worldwide.
Jane Kenyon (1947) — Jane Kenyon was an American poet and translator. Her work is often characterized as simple, spare, and emotionally resonant. Kenyon was the second wife of poet, editor, and critic Donald Hall who made her the subject of many of his poems.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.