On this day
May 8 in literary history
Literary history for May 8: 15 writers born and 20 writers who died from 1492 to 2024. Born on this day: Naomi Klein, Roddy Doyle, Pat Barker.
Writers born on May 8
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Naomi Klein | Canadian author and activist (born 1970) |
| 1958 | Roddy Doyle | Irish author and screenwriter (born 1958) |
| 1943 | Pat Barker | English writer and novelist |
| 1940 | Peter Benchley | American author (1940–2006) |
| 1938 | Jean Giraud | French comics author (1938–2012) |
| 1937 | Thomas Pynchon | American novelist (born 1937) |
| 1930 | Gary Snyder | American poet (born 1930) |
| 1912 | George Woodcock | Canadian writer, literary critic, philosopher, poet and theorist (1912–1995) |
| 1895 | Edmund Wilson | American writer and literary critic (1895–1972) |
| 1885 | Thomas B. Costain | Canadian writer (1885–1965) |
| 1867 | Margarete Böhme | German writer (1867–1939) |
| 1858 | J. Meade Falkner | English novelist and poet |
| 1839 | Adolphe-Basile Routhier | Canadian judge and poet (1839–1920) |
| 1737 | Edward Gibbon | British essayist, historian and politician (1737–1794) |
| 1492 | Andrea Alciato | Italian jurist and writer (1492–1550) |
Writers who died on May 8
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ramón Fonseca Mora | Panamanian novelist and lawyer (1952–2024) |
| 2023 | Rita Lee | Brazilian musician, author, actress and television host (1947–2023) |
| 2013 | Bryan Forbes | British filmmaker, writer, and actor (1926–2013) |
| 2012 | Maurice Sendak | American author and illustrator (1928–2012) |
| 2007 | Philip R. Craig | American novelist (1933–2007) |
| 2005 | Jean Carrière | French writer (1928–2005) |
| 2000 | Pita Amor | Mexican poet (1918–2000) |
| 1999 | Soeman Hs | Indonesian author |
| 1996 | Larry Levis | American poet and teacher |
| 1996 | Garth Williams | American children's book illustrator (1912–1996) |
| 1993 | Avram Davidson | American writer (1923–1993) |
| 1988 | Robert A. Heinlein | American author and engineer (1907–1988) |
| 1986 | Ernle Bradford | British writer (1922–1986) |
| 1985 | Theodore Sturgeon | American speculative fiction writer (1918–1985) |
| 1984 | Lila Acheson Wallace | American magazine publisher and philanthropist (1889-1984) |
| 1983 | John Fante | American writer (1909–1983) |
| 1981 | Uri Zvi Greenberg | Israeli poet and politician (1896–1981) |
| 1891 | Helena Blavatsky | Russian-American mystic and writer (1831–1891) |
| 1880 | Gustave Flaubert | French novelist (1821–1880) |
| 1781 | Richard Jago | English clergyman, poet and minor landscape gardener |
Featured
Naomi Klein (1970) — Naomi Klein is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism and organized labour, and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, and capitalism.
Roddy Doyle (1958) — Roderick Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been made into films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991.
Pat Barker (1943) — Dame Patricia Mary W. Barker, is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres on themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.