On this day
April 16 in literary history
Literary history for April 16: 23 writers born, 18 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1569 to 2012. Born on this day: Patricia De Martelaere, Michel Blanc, Ioan Mihai Cochinescu.
Writers born on April 16
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Patricia De Martelaere | Flemish philosopher, professor, author and essayist |
| 1952 | Michel Blanc | French actor, writer and director (1952–2024) |
| 1951 | Ioan Mihai Cochinescu | Romanian novelist and essayist |
| 1945 | Tom Allen (Maine politician) | American author and politician (born 1945) |
| 1935 | Sarah Kirsch | German poet |
| 1935 | Dominique Venner | French journalist and essayist |
| 1924 | Madanjeet Singh | Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (died 2013) |
| 1922 | Kingsley Amis | English author, critic and teacher (1922–1995) |
| 1921 | Wolfgang Leonhard | German political author and historian |
| 1918 | Spike Milligan | Irish comedian and writer (1918–2002) |
| 1916 | Behçet Necatigil | Turkish translator (1916-1979) |
| 1900 | Polly Adler | American madam and author (1900–1962) |
| 1893 | Germaine Guèvremont | Canadian writer (1893–1968) |
| 1892 | Howard Mumford Jones | Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (died 1980) |
| 1891 | Dorothy P. Lathrop | American writer and illustrator (1891–1980) |
| 1890 | Gertrude Chandler Warner | American author (1890–1979) |
| 1884 | Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell | British politician and writer (1884-1963) |
| 1871 | John Millington Synge | Irish writer (1871–1909) |
| 1866 | José de Diego | Puerto Rican politician and writer (1866–1918) |
| 1844 | Anatole France | French author and journalist (1844–1924) |
| 1827 | Octave Crémazie | Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (died 1879) |
| 1661 | Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax | British politician and poet (1661–1715) |
| 1569 | John Davies (poet, born 1569) | English poet, lawyer, and politician (1569–1626) |
Writers who died on April 16
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sol Saks | American actor and screenwriter (1910–2011) |
| 1997 | Roland Topor | French writer, screenwriter, actor and painter |
| 1994 | Ralph Ellison | American novelist, literary critic, scholar and writer (1913–1994) |
| 1972 | Yasunari Kawabata | Japanese novelist (1899–1972) |
| 1970 | Péter Veres (politician) | Hungarian politician and writer |
| 1969 | Hem Vejakorn | Thai artist and writer (1904–1969) |
| 1968 | Edna Ferber | American novelist and playwright (1885–1968) |
| 1966 | Eric Lambert (author) | Australian author and communist (1918–1966) |
| 1960 | Mihály Fekete | Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director |
| 1957 | Pieter van der Hoog | Dutch physician and writer (1888–1957) |
| 1941 | Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp | British industrialist, economist, politician, and writer (1880–1941) |
| 1935 | Panait Istrati | Romanian writer (1884–1935) |
| 1930 | José Carlos Mariátegui | Peruvian writer and academic (1894–1930) |
| 1904 | Maximilian Kronberger | German poet |
| 1904 | Samuel Smiles | British author (1812–1904) |
| 1742 | Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino | Italian poet and opera librettist (1672–1742) |
| 1689 | Aphra Behn | English playwright, poet and spy (1640–1689) |
| 1687 | George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham | English statesman and poet |
Literary events on April 16
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2012 | The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced. It was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize. |
Featured
Patricia De Martelaere (1957) — Patricia De Martelaere was a Flemish philosopher, professor, author and essayist. Born in Zottegem, Belgium, her full name was Patricia Marie Madeleine Godelieve. She graduated in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and then taught and lectured there and at the Catholic University of Brussels.
Michel Blanc (1952) — Michel Blanc was a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier, Marie-Anne Chazel and Gérard Jugnot.
Ioan Mihai Cochinescu (1951) — Ioan Mihai Cochinescu is a Romanian novelist and essayist. He is also a film script author and director, an art photographer, teacher, musicologist and composer.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.