On this day
August 2 in literary history
Literary history for August 2: 27 writers born, 19 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1445 to 2014. Born on this day: Miguel Mendonça, Aline Brosh McKenna, Jim Doughan.
27writers born
19writers died
1literary events
Writers born on August 2
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Miguel Mendonça | Anglo-Azorean writer (born 1973) |
| 1967 | Aline Brosh McKenna | American screenwriter, producer, and director (born 1967) |
| 1959 | Jim Doughan | American actor, teacher and writer |
| 1955 | Caleb Carr | American military historian and author (1955–2024) |
| 1950 | Jussi Adler-Olsen | Danish crime fiction writer |
| 1949 | James Fallows | American writer and journalist (born 1949) |
| 1948 | Snoo Wilson | English playwright and screenwriter (1948–2013) |
| 1947 | Lawrence Wright | American writer and journalist (born 1947) |
| 1946 | James Howe | American children's writer |
| 1943 | Rose Tremain | English writer (born 1943) |
| 1942 | Isabel Allende | Chilean-American writer (born 1942) |
| 1941 | François Weyergans | Belgian writer and director (1941–2019) |
| 1931 | Karl Miller | Scottish literary editor, critic and writer (1931–2014) |
| 1929 | K. M. Peyton | British author (1929–2023) |
| 1924 | James Baldwin | American writer and activist (1924–1987) |
| 1922 | Geoffrey Dutton | Australian writer and historian |
| 1921 | George Wilson (artist) | American comic illustrator |
| 1912 | Håkon Stenstadvold | Norwegian painter, illustrator, journalist, art critic and politician |
| 1910 | Roger MacDougall | Scottish playwright, screenwriter and director (1910–1993) |
| 1907 | Mary Hamman | American writer and editor |
| 1900 | Holling C. Holling | American author and illustrator |
| 1899 | Charles Bennett (screenwriter) | English screenwriter (1899–1995) |
| 1884 | Rómulo Gallegos | Venezuelan politician and writer (1884–1969) |
| 1878 | Aino Kallas | Finnish-Estonian writer (1878–1956) |
| 1867 | Ernest Dowson | English writer (1867–1900) |
| 1815 | Adolf Friedrich von Schack | German poet, historian of literature and art collector |
| 1627 | Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten | Painter and writer from the Northern Netherlands |
Writers who died on August 2
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Billie Letts | American novelist and educator |
| 2014 | James Thompson (crime writer) | American-Finnish crime writer (1964–2014) |
| 2011 | José Sanchis Grau | Spanish comic book writer (1932–2011) |
| 2005 | Steven Vincent | American author and journalist (1955-2005) |
| 2004 | François Craenhals | Belgian cartoonist (1926–2004) |
| 1999 | Willie Morris | American writer and editor (1934–1999) |
| 1997 | William S. Burroughs | American writer and visual artist (1914–1997) |
| 1997 | Harald Kihle | Norwegian painter and illustrator |
| 1990 | Norman Maclean | American author (1902–1990) |
| 1988 | Raymond Carver | American story writer and poet (1938–1988) |
| 1972 | Paul Goodman | American writer and public intellectual (1911–1972) |
| 1972 | Helen Hoyt | American poet |
| 1963 | Oliver La Farge | American novelist and anthropologist (1901–1963) |
| 1955 | Wallace Stevens | American poet (1879–1955) |
| 1939 | Harvey Spencer Lewis | American writer and mystic (1883–1939) |
| 1890 | Louise-Victorine Ackermann | French poet (1813–1890) |
| 1889 | Eduardo Gutiérrez | Argentine writer (1851–1889) |
| 1854 | Heinrich Clauren | German writer (1771–1854) |
| 1445 | Oswald von Wolkenstein | German poet, composer and diplomat |
Literary events on August 2
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1920 | Nepalese author Krishna Lal Adhikari (pictured) was sentenced to nine years in prison for publishing a book about the cultivation of corn alleged to contain attacks on the ruling dynasty. |
Featured
Miguel Mendonça (1973) — Miguel Mendonça is an Anglo-Azorean writer and musician based in Bristol, England.
Aline Brosh McKenna (1967) — Aline Brosh McKenna is an American filmmaker. Her credits include writing The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and its 2026 sequel, 27 Dresses (2008), Morning Glory (2010), We Bought a Zoo (2011) and co-creating The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Jim Doughan (1959) — James Francis Doughan is an American actor, teacher and writer.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.