On this day
December 5 in literary history
Literary history for December 5: 30 writers born and 18 writers who died from 1470 to 2024. Born on this day: Ravish Kumar, Luboš Motl, Catherine Tate.
Writers born on December 5
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Ravish Kumar | Indian journalist and writer (born 1974) |
| 1973 | Luboš Motl | Czech physicist and translator |
| 1969 | Catherine Tate | British actress, comedian and writer (born 1969) |
| 1968 | Lydia Millet | American novelist (born 1968) |
| 1963 | Carrie Hamilton | American dramatist (1963–2002) |
| 1956 | Adam Thorpe | British poet and novelist (born 1956) |
| 1954 | Hanif Kureishi | British playwright (born 1954) |
| 1951 | Link Byfield | Canadian writer and politician (1951–2015) |
| 1945 | Serge Chapleau | Canadian political cartoonist |
| 1940 | Peter Pohl | Swedish author, director and screenwriter |
| 1936 | James Lee Burke | American author (born 1936) |
| 1935 | Calvin Trillin | American humorist and novelist (born 1935) |
| 1934 | Joan Didion | American writer (1934–2021) |
| 1929 | Madis Kõiv | Estonian writer, philosopher and physicist |
| 1914 | Hans Hellmut Kirst | German novelist |
| 1912 | Kate Simon | Polish-born American writer (1912 – 1990) |
| 1910 | Abraham Polonsky | American screenwriter and film director (1910–1999) |
| 1902 | Emeric Pressburger | Hungarian-British screenwriter, director and producer (1902–1988) |
| 1898 | Josh Malihabadi | Pakistani poet (1898–1982) |
| 1897 | Nunnally Johnson | American screenwriter (1897–1977) |
| 1896 | Ann Nolan Clark | American writer (1896–1995) |
| 1886 | Rose Wilder Lane | American journalist, writer, and political theorist (1886–1968) |
| 1869 | Ellis Parker Butler | American writer (1869–1937) |
| 1866 | Traian Demetrescu | Romanian writer, novelist (1866–1896) |
| 1830 | Christina Rossetti | English poet (1830–1894) |
| 1820 | Afanasy Fet | Russian poet (1820–1892) |
| 1803 | Fyodor Tyutchev | Russian poet (1803–1873) |
| 1784 | George Shepherd (artist) | George Shepherd, English illustrator and painter (died 1862) |
| 1556 | Anne Cecil | English writer (1556–1588) |
| 1470 | Willibald Pirckheimer | German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist |
Writers who died on December 5
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jacques Roubaud | French poet, writer and mathematician (1932–2024) |
| 2023 | Norman Lear | American screenwriter and producer (1922–2023) |
| 2015 | Chuck Williams (author) | American businessperson and food writer (1915–2015) |
| 2014 | Talât Sait Halman | Turkish writer and historian (1931–2014) |
| 2010 | Alan Armer | American television writer, producer, and director |
| 2009 | William Lederer | American novelist |
| 1995 | L. B. Cole | American cartoonist |
| 1995 | Gwen Harwood | Australian poet |
| 1977 | Katherine Milhous | American writer |
| 1951 | Abanindranath Tagore | Indian painter and writer (1871–1951) |
| 1933 | Alexander Atabekian | Armenian anarchist writer (1868–1933) |
| 1931 | Vachel Lindsay | American poet (1879–1931) |
| 1925 | Władysław Reymont | Polish novelist (1867–1925) |
| 1887 | Eliza R. Snow | American religious leader and poet |
| 1870 | Alexandre Dumas | French writer and dramatist (1802–1870) |
| 1819 | Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg | German lawyer and translator (1750–1819) |
| 1784 | Phillis Wheatley | American writer (c. 1753–1784) |
| 1654 | Jean-François Sarasin | French writer (1611–1654) |
Featured
Ravish Kumar (1974) — Ravish Kumar is an Indian journalist and author. He worked for the Hindi-language television news channel NDTV India from 1994 to 2022, eventually becoming its Senior Executive Editor.
Luboš Motl (1973) — Luboš Motl is a Czech blogger. He was an assistant professor in physics at Harvard University from 2004 to 2007. His scientific publications were focused on string theory.
Catherine Tate (1969) — Catherine Tate is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007), as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven British Academy Television Awards.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.