On this day
December 19 in literary history
Literary history for December 19: 22 writers born, 15 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1558 to 2024. Born on this day: Brandon Sanderson, Richard Hammond, Matthew Waterhouse.
Writers born on December 19
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Brandon Sanderson | American fiction writer (born 1975) |
| 1969 | Richard Hammond | English journalist, television presenter, and author (born 1969) |
| 1961 | Matthew Waterhouse | English actor, writer (b. 1961) |
| 1960 | Michelangelo Signorile | American journalist, author, and talk radio host |
| 1957 | Cyril Collard | French author, filmmaker, composer, musician and actor |
| 1954 | Tim Parks | British writer (born 1954) |
| 1946 | Rosemary Conley | British business woman and writer (born 1946) |
| 1932 | Salvador Elizondo | Mexican writer (1932–2006) |
| 1929 | Howard Sackler | American dramatist |
| 1928 | Eve Bunting | Northern Irish-American author (1929–2023) |
| 1926 | Fikret Otyam | Turkish journalist, writer and painter |
| 1925 | Tankred Dorst | German playwright and storyteller (1925–2017) |
| 1924 | Michel Tournier | French writer (1924–2016) |
| 1914 | Mel Shaw | American animator, design artist, writer, and artist |
| 1910 | Jean Genet | French novelist, playwright, and poet (1910–1986) |
| 1909 | W. A. Criswell | American pastor and author (1909–2002) |
| 1901 | Oliver La Farge | American novelist and anthropologist (1901–1963) |
| 1895 | Ingeborg Refling Hagen | Norwegian author and poet |
| 1875 | Carter G. Woodson | African-American historian, writer, and journalist (1875–1950) |
| 1865 | Minnie Maddern Fiske | American dramatist (1865–1932) |
| 1861 | Italo Svevo | Italian and Austro-Hungarian businessman, playwright, and writer (1861–1928) |
| 1796 | Manuel Bretón de los Herreros | Spanish dramatist (1796–1873) |
Writers who died on December 19
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Michael Leunig | Australian cartoonist (1945–2024) |
| 2014 | Roberta Leigh | British novelist and television writer (1926–2014) |
| 2013 | Ned Vizzini | American writer |
| 2010 | Anthony Howard (journalist) | British journalist, broadcaster and writer |
| 2002 | George Weller | American novelist, playwright, and journalist (1907–2002) |
| 1989 | Stella Gibbons | British writer (1902–1989) |
| 1988 | Robert Bernstein (comics) | American writer (1919–1988) |
| 1987 | August Mälk | Estonian writer and politician |
| 1986 | V. C. Andrews | American novelist (1923–1986) |
| 1982 | Dwight Macdonald | American writer (1906–1982) |
| 1972 | Ahmet Emin Yalman | Turkish journalist, author and professor (1888–1972) |
| 1927 | Ram Prasad Bismil | Indian revolutionary, poet & writer (1897–1927) |
| 1878 | Bayard Taylor | American poet, novelist and travel writer (1825–1878) |
| 1848 | Emily Brontë | English writer and novelist (1818–1848) |
| 1558 | Cornelius Grapheus | Cornelius Grapheus, Flemish writer (born 1482) |
Literary events on December 19
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1843 | A Christmas Carol (illustration pictured), a novella by Charles Dickens about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation after being visited by ghosts, was published. |
| 1776 | Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets entitled The American Crisis, opening with the line: "These are the times that try men's souls." |
Featured
Brandon Sanderson (1975) — Brandon Winn Sanderson is an American author of high fantasy, science fiction, and young adult books. His best known novels include the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, which are set in the "Cosmere", a fictional universe.
Richard Hammond (1969) — Richard Mark Hammond is an English television presenter, journalist, and author. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. From 2016 to 2024, the trio presented Amazon Prime Video's The Grand Tour.
Matthew Waterhouse (1961) — Matthew Waterhouse is an English actor and writer, best known for his role as Adric in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1980 to 1982.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.