On this day
December 23 in literary history
Literary history for December 23: 18 writers born, 15 writers who died and 5 literary events from 910 to 2024. Born on this day: Reed Alexander, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Karyn Bryant.
Writers born on December 23
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Reed Alexander | American journalist, author, and actor |
| 1979 | Megan Mayhew Bergman | American novelist |
| 1968 | Karyn Bryant | American actress, writer, and television personality |
| 1963 | Donna Tartt | American novelist and writer |
| 1961 | Ezzat el Kamhawi | Egyptian novelist and journalist |
| 1955 | Carol Ann Duffy | Scottish poet and playwright (born 1955) |
| 1945 | Geoffrey Wheatcroft | British journalist and writer (born 1945) |
| 1926 | Robert Bly | American poet, author, and activist (1926–2021) |
| 1925 | Rayner Unwin | English publisher (1925-2000) |
| 1907 | Manuel Lopes (writer) | Cape Verdean novelist, poet and essayist (1907- 2005) |
| 1902 | Norman Maclean | American author (1902–1990) |
| 1900 | Otto Soglow | American cartoonist |
| 1896 | Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa | Sicilian writer and prince (1896–1957) |
| 1839 | János Murkovics | Slovene teacher, musician and writer |
| 1828 | Mathilde Wesendonck | German poet |
| 1819 | Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate | Dutch divine, prose writer and poet (1819–1889) |
| 1812 | Samuel Smiles | British author (1812–1904) |
| 1597 | Martin Opitz | German poet (1597–1639) |
Writers who died on December 23
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Shyam Benegal | Indian director and screenwriter (1934–2024) |
| 2021 | Joan Didion | American writer (1934–2021) |
| 2014 | Edward Greenspan | Canadian lawyer and author |
| 2013 | G. S. Shivarudrappa | Indian poet (1926–2013) |
| 2006 | Charlie Drake | English comedian, actor, singer and writer (1925–2006) |
| 1998 | Joe Orlando | Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist (1927–1998) |
| 1994 | Sebastian Shaw (actor) | English actor, director and writer (1905–1994) |
| 1984 | Joan Lindsay | Australian novelist, playwright and essayist |
| 1973 | Irna Phillips | American screenwriter and actress (1901–1973) |
| 1961 | Carolyn Sherwin Bailey | American writer (1875–1961) |
| 1889 | Constance Naden | 19th-century English writer, poet, and philosopher |
| 1646 | François Maynard | French poet (1582–1646) |
| 1631 | Michael Drayton | English poet and playwright (1563-1631) |
| 1556 | Nicholas Udall | English playwright, cleric and schoolmaster (1504–1556) |
| 910 | Saint Naum | Slavic writer and missionary |
Literary events on December 23
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1955 | The first film adaptation of Väinö Linna's novel The Unknown Soldier, directed by Edvin Laine, premieres. |
| 1936 | Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. |
| 1823 | The poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas," also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," is published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel. |
| 1815 | The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published. |
| 1815 | Jane Austen's novel Emma was first published, the last novel released during her lifetime. |
Featured
Reed Alexander (1994) — Reed Alexander is an American actor, journalist, and author. He is currently a correspondent for Insider, formerly “Business Insider,” covering the business of entertainment and the global media industry.
Megan Mayhew Bergman (1979) — Megan Mayhew Bergman is an American writer and environmental journalist, author of the books Almost Famous Women, Birds of a Lesser Paradise, and How Strange a Season, and a forthcoming biography on the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. In 2015, she won the Garrett Award for Fiction.
Karyn Bryant (1968) — Karyn Bryant is an American actress, writer, and television personality.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.