On this day

April 27 in literary history

Literary history for April 27: 21 writers born, 14 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1556 to 2024. Born on this day: Nigel Barker (photographer), Russell T Davies, David W. Duclon.

21writers born
14writers died
1literary events

Writers born on April 27

BornWriterKnown as
1972Nigel Barker (photographer)English TV show personality, author, and filmmaker
1963Russell T DaviesWelsh screenwriter and television producer (born 1963)
1950David W. DuclonAmerican television writer (1950–2025)
1948Kate PiersonAmerican singer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist (b. 1948)
1945August WilsonAmerican playwright (1945–2005)
1942Ruth GlickAmerican writer (born 1942)
1936Geoffrey ShoveltonEnglish singer, actor and illustrator (1936–2016)
1935Theo AngelopoulosGreek film director, screenwriter and film producer (1935–2012)
1926Tim LaHayeEvangelical Christian minister and author from the United States
1921Robert DhéryFrench comedian, actor, director and screenwriter
1920Edwin Morgan (poet)Scottish poet and essayist (1920–2010)
1912Jacques de Bourbon-BussetFrench novelist, essayist and politician
1906Yiorgos TheotokasGreek novelist
1904Cecil Day-LewisIrish-born British poet (1904–1972)
1898Ludwig BemelmansAmerican writer and illustrator (1898–1962)
1882Jessie R. FausetAmerican writer, poet, and educator (1882–1961)
1861William Arms FisherAmerican historian, music editor, and writer on music (1861–1948)
1853Jules LemaîtreFrench critic and dramatist (1853–1914)
1788Charles Robert CockerellEnglish architect, archaeologist, and writer
1759Mary WollstonecraftEnglish writer and philosopher (1759–1797)
1556François Béroalde de VervilleFrançois Béroalde de Verville, French writer (died 1626)

Writers who died on April 27

DiedWriterKnown as
2024C. J. SansomBritish author of crime fiction (1952–2024)
2021Manoj DasIndian author (1934–2021)
2013Aída BortnikArgentine screenwriter
2006Julia ThorneAmerican writer (1944–2006)
2002George Alec EffingerAmerican science fiction author (1947–2002)
1999Dale C. ThomsonCanadian political scientist, author and historian
1998Carlos CastanedaAmerican anthropologist and writer (1925–1998)
1998Anne DesclosFrench journalist and novelist (1907–1998)
1995Willem Frederik HermansDutch writer (1921–1995)
1992Gerard K. O'NeillAmerican physicist, author, and inventor (1927–1992)
1977Stanley Adams (actor)American actor and screenwriter (1915–1977)
1967William Douglas CookNew Zealand writer
1937Antonio GramsciItalian Marxist philosopher, writer, and politician (1891–1937)
1932Hart CraneAmerican poet (1899–1932)

Literary events on April 27

YearEvent
1936The trilogy The Adventure Girls (second book pictured), by the children's author Clair Blank, was copyrighted by A. L. Burt.

Featured

Nigel Barker (photographer) (1972) — Nigel Barker is an English reality TV show personality, fashion photographer, author, spokesperson, filmmaker, and former model. He is best known for his participation as a judge and photographer on the reality show America's Next Top Model, and was the host of reality show The Face for the American series.

Russell T Davies (1963) — Stephen Russell Davies, known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, from 2005 to 2010 and 2023 to 2025.

David W. Duclon (1950) — Warren David Duclon was an American television writer and producer, known for his work on Silver Spoons, Family Matters, Punky Brewster and the legacy sequel of the same name. Duclon was born in Rockford, Illinois, on April 27, 1950. He died in Franklin, Tennessee, on January 15, 2025, at the age of 74.

Sources & data

  • Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.