On this day
December 17 in literary history
Literary history for December 17: 27 writers born, 9 writers who died and 3 literary events from 908 to 2014. Born on this day: Eli Pariser, Mansoor al-Jamri, Laurence F. Johnson.
Writers born on December 17
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Eli Pariser | Author, activist, and entrepreneur |
| 1961 | Mansoor al-Jamri | Bahraini journalist, author, and activist (born 1961) |
| 1950 | Laurence F. Johnson | American futurist, author, and educator (born 1950) |
| 1945 | Jüri Talvet | Estonian poet and academic |
| 1945 | Jacqueline Wilson | English novelist (born 1945) |
| 1944 | Jack L. Chalker | American science fiction and fantasy author (1944–2005) |
| 1943 | Ron Geesin | Scottish musician and writer (born 1943) |
| 1937 | John Kennedy Toole | American novelist (1937–1969) |
| 1931 | James McGaugh | American neurobiologist and author |
| 1930 | Bob Guccione | American photographer, painter and publisher (1930–2010) |
| 1930 | Dorothy Rowe (psychologist) | Australian psychologist and author (1930–2019) |
| 1928 | Marilyn Beck | American syndicated columnist and author |
| 1926 | Stephen Lewis (actor) | English actor and writer (1926–2015) |
| 1925 | Calvin Tomkins | American author and art critic (1925–2026) |
| 1921 | Lore Berger | Swiss writer |
| 1916 | Penelope Fitzgerald | English novelist and biographer (1916–2000) |
| 1905 | Erico Verissimo | Brazilian writer (1905–1975 |
| 1903 | Erskine Caldwell | American novelist (1903–1987) |
| 1887 | Josef Lada | Czech illustrator and painter (1887–1957) |
| 1884 | Alison Uttley | English children's writer (1884–1976) |
| 1873 | Ford Madox Ford | English writer and publisher (1873–1939) |
| 1847 | Émile Faguet | French author and literary critic |
| 1830 | Jules de Goncourt | French writer (1830–1870) |
| 1807 | John Greenleaf Whittier | American Quaker poet and abolitionist (1807–1892) |
| 1706 | Émilie du Châtelet | French mathematician, physicist, and author (1706–1749) |
| 1685 | Thomas Tickell | English poet (1685–1740) |
| 1556 | Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan | Mughal court poet and minister (1556–1627) |
Writers who died on December 17
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Oleh Lysheha | Ukrainian poet, playwright, translator and intellectual (1949 – 2014) |
| 2005 | Marc Favreau | Canadian actor and poet |
| 2005 | Haljand Udam | Estonian orientalist and translator |
| 1987 | Marguerite Yourcenar | French novelist and essayist (1903–1987) |
| 1962 | Thomas Mitchell (actor) | American actor and writer (1892–1962) |
| 1957 | Dorothy L. Sayers | English novelist, translator and Christian writer (1893–1957) |
| 1935 | Lizette Woodworth Reese | American poet |
| 1273 | Rumi | Sufi mystic and poet (1207–1273) |
| 908 | Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz | Abbasid prince, poet and politician (861–908) |
Literary events on December 17
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1969 | Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs. |
| 1892 | First issue of Vogue is published. |
| 1665 | The first account of a blood transfusion is published, in the form of a letter from physician Richard Lower to chemist Robert Boyle, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society |
Featured
Eli Pariser (1980) — Eli Pariser is an author, activist, and entrepreneur. He has stated that his focus is "how to make technology and media serve democracy". He became executive director of MoveOn.org in 2004, where he helped pioneer the practice of online citizen engagement.
Mansoor al-Jamri (1961) — Mansoor al-Jamri is a Bahraini columnist, author, human rights activist and former opposition leader. He is the editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat, an Arabic language independent daily newspaper. He is also the second son of the Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, who died in 2006.
Laurence F. Johnson (1950) — Larry Johnson is an American futurist, author, and educator. Johnson is the founder and CEO of EdFutures.org, an international think tank, and as a Senior Fellow of the Center for Digital Education.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.