On this day
April 6 in literary history
Literary history for April 6: 26 writers born and 11 writers who died from 1174 to 2026. Born on this day: Hirotada Ototake, Anders Thomas Jensen, Spencer Wells.
Writers born on April 6
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Hirotada Ototake | Japanese writer (born 1976) |
| 1972 | Anders Thomas Jensen | Danish screenwriter and director (born 1972) |
| 1969 | Spencer Wells | American author and geneticist |
| 1966 | Vince Flynn | American author (1966–2013) |
| 1958 | Graeme Base | Australian artist and children's writer |
| 1955 | Rob Epstein | American film director, producer, writer and editor |
| 1955 | Cathy Jones | Canadian actress, comedian and writer (born 1955) |
| 1950 | Cleo Odzer | American author (1950–2001) |
| 1941 | Phil Austin | American comedian and writer (1941–2015) |
| 1940 | Homero Aridjis | Mexican writer, activist, journalist, and ambassador (born 1940) |
| 1937 | Billy Dee Williams | American actor, novelist and painter (born 1937) |
| 1935 | Douglas Hill | Canadian science fiction author, editor and reviewer |
| 1929 | Willis Hall | English playwright and writer (1929–2005) |
| 1917 | Leonora Carrington | British and Mexican artist, surrealist painter and novelist (1917–2011) |
| 1902 | Julien Torma | French writer, playwright and poet |
| 1895 | Dudley Nichols | American screenwriter and film director (1895–1960) |
| 1892 | Lowell Thomas | American author, broadcaster and traveler (1892–1981) |
| 1878 | Erich Mühsam | German anarchist writer (1878–1934) |
| 1869 | Levon Shant | Armenian poet |
| 1861 | Stanislas de Guaita | French poet |
| 1823 | Joseph Medill | American newspaper editor, publisher, and politician (1823–1899) |
| 1818 | Aasmund Olavsson Vinje | Norwegian poet and journalist (1818–1870) |
| 1812 | Alexander Herzen | Russian author and revolutionary (1812–1870) |
| 1741 | Nicolas Chamfort | French writer |
| 1706 | Louis de Cahusac | French playwright, librettist, and Freemason (1706-1759) |
| 1671 | Jean-Baptiste Rousseau | French playwright and poet (1671–1741) |
Writers who died on April 6
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Nick Pope (journalist) | British UFO writer (1965–2026) |
| 2021 | Hans Küng | Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author (1928–2021) |
| 2019 | Michael O'Donnell (physician) | British physician, journalist, author, and broadcaster (1928–2019) |
| 2012 | Reed Whittemore | American poet (1919–2012) |
| 1992 | Isaac Asimov | American writer and biochemist (1920–1992) |
| 1953 | Idris Davies | Welsh poet |
| 1944 | Rose O'Neill | American illustrator (1874–1944) |
| 1935 | Edwin Arlington Robinson | American poet and playwright (1869–1935) |
| 1927 | Florence Van Leer Earle Coates | American writer and poet (1850-1927) |
| 1906 | Alexander Kielland | Norwegian realist writer (1849–1906) |
| 1174 | Umara al-Yamani | Yemeni writer |
Featured
Hirotada Ototake (1976) — Hirotada Ototake is a Japanese writer from Tokyo, who has written in the memoir, fiction and sports journalism genres.
Anders Thomas Jensen (1972) — Anders Thomas Jensen is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His film Election Night won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Spencer Wells (1969) — Rush Spencer Wells is an American geneticist, anthropologist, author and entrepreneur. He co-hosts The Insight podcast with Razib Khan. Wells led The Genographic Project from 2005 to 2015, as an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.