On this day
December 29 in literary history
Literary history for December 29: 29 writers born, 33 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1661 to 2019. Born on this day: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Alison Brie, Julia Wertz.
29writers born
33writers died
1literary events
Writers born on December 29
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Branden Jacobs-Jenkins | American playwright (born 1984) |
| 1982 | Alison Brie | American actress and writer (born 1982) |
| 1982 | Julia Wertz | American cartoonist |
| 1981 | Janice Lynn Mather | Bahamian-born Canadian writer |
| 1981 | Anna Woltz | Dutch writer (born 1981) |
| 1979 | Ariel Schrag | American cartoonist and television writer |
| 1974 | Twinkle Khanna | Indian author and former actress (born 1973) |
| 1966 | Christian Kracht | Swiss novelist (born 1966) |
| 1962 | Leza Lowitz | American writer (born 1962) |
| 1960 | Brian A. Hopkins | American horror writer (born 1960) |
| 1959 | Martin Moran (actor) | American novelist |
| 1957 | Paul Rudnick | American writer |
| 1956 | Katy Munger | Crime fiction and mystery author |
| 1955 | Chris Goodall | English businessman, author and expert on new energy technologies |
| 1955 | Donald D. Hoffman | American cognitive psychologist and popular science author |
| 1953 | Charlayne Woodard | American playwright and actress (born 1953) |
| 1951 | Georges Thurston | Black Canadian singer and author (1951–2007) |
| 1949 | Ian Livingstone | English author and entrepreneur (born 1949) |
| 1944 | Gerard Windsor | Australian author and literary critic (born 1944) |
| 1943 | Molly Bang | American illustrator |
| 1933 | Samuel Brittan | English journalist and author (1933–2020) |
| 1924 | Joe Allbritton | American banker, publisher and philanthropist |
| 1922 | William Gaddis | American novelist (1922–1998) |
| 1921 | Dobrica Ćosić | Serbian writer and politician |
| 1915 | Robert Ruark | American novelist |
| 1908 | Helmut Gollwitzer | German Protestant (Lutheran) theologian and author (1908–1993) |
| 1904 | Kuvempu | Indian poet (1904–1994) |
| 1855 | August Kitzberg | Estonian writer |
| 1809 | Albert Pike | American author, Freemason, and soldier (1809–1891) |
Writers who died on December 29
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Alasdair Gray | Scottish writer and artist (1934–2019) |
| 2019 | Neil Innes | English songwriter, writer, comedian, and musician (1944–2019) |
| 2018 | Brian Garfield | American writer (1939–2018) |
| 2013 | Jagadish Mohanty | Indian writer (1951–2013) |
| 2012 | Roland Griffiths-Marsh | Australian soldier and author |
| 2012 | Bruce Stark | American cartoonist |
| 2009 | Janina Bauman | Polish journalist and writer |
| 2009 | Steve Williams (wrestler) | American professional and amateur wrestler, football player and author (1960–2009) |
| 2005 | Basil William Robinson | British art scholar and author |
| 2004 | Peter Davison (poet) | American poet (1928–2004) |
| 2003 | Bob Monkhouse | English comedian, writer and actor (1928–2003) |
| 1996 | Pennar Davies | Pennar Davies, Welsh clergyman and author (born 1911) |
| 1989 | Süreyya Ağaoğlu | Turkish-Azerbaijani writer, jurist, and the first female lawyer (1903-1989) |
| 1987 | Jun Ishikawa | Japanese author, translator and literary critic |
| 1981 | Miroslav Krleža | Croatian writer (1893–1981) |
| 1980 | Nadezhda Mandelstam | Russian educator and writer (1899–1980) |
| 1975 | Euell Gibbons | American writer, outdoorsman, and health food advocate |
| 1965 | Frank Nugent | Screenwriter, film critic (1908–1965) |
| 1960 | Eden Phillpotts | English author, poet and dramatist (1862–1960) |
| 1956 | Miles Vandahurst Lynk | American physician and author |
| 1946 | Mirko Breyer | Mirko Breyer, Croatian writer, bibliographer, and antiquarian (born 1863) |
| 1943 | Art Young | American cartoonist and writer (1866–1943) |
| 1937 | Don Marquis | American writer (1878–1937) |
| 1936 | Willem Siebenhaar | Social activist and writer |
| 1929 | Edward Christopher Williams | American novelist |
| 1926 | Rainer Maria Rilke | Austrian poet and writer (1875–1926) |
| 1924 | Carl Spitteler | Swiss writer (1845–1924) |
| 1911 | Rosamund Marriott Watson | English poet and writer (1860–1911) |
| 1910 | Samuel Butcher (classicist) | Anglo-Irish writer and scholar (1850–1910) |
| 1894 | Christina Rossetti | English poet (1830–1894) |
| 1890 | Octave Feuillet | French novelist and dramatist (1821–1890) |
| 1785 | Johan Herman Wessel | Danish-Norwegian poet, satirist and playwright |
| 1661 | Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant | French poet (1594–1661) |
Literary events on December 29
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia. |
Featured
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (1984) — Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. His play Purpose won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for which his works Gloria and Everybody were finalists in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Alison Brie (1982) — Alison Brie Schermerhorn is an American actress, producer, and writer. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as nominations for four Critics' Choice Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Julia Wertz (1982) — Julia Wertz is an American cartoonist, writer and urban explorer.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.