On this day
February 21 in literary history
Literary history for February 21: 16 writers born, 12 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1817 to 2016. Born on this day: Chuck Palahniuk, David Foster Wallace, Jack Coleman (actor).
Writers born on February 21
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Chuck Palahniuk | American novelist (born 1962) |
| 1962 | David Foster Wallace | American writer (1962–2008) |
| 1958 | Jack Coleman (actor) | American actor & screenwriter (born 1958) |
| 1949 | Frank Brunner | American comics artist and illustrator (born 1949) |
| 1935 | Richard A. Lupoff | American author (1935–2020) |
| 1927 | Erma Bombeck | American humorist and writer (1927–1996) |
| 1921 | Zdeněk Miler | Czech animator and illustrator (1921–2011) |
| 1907 | W. H. Auden | British-American poet (1907–1973) |
| 1903 | Anaïs Nin | French-born American author (1903–1977) |
| 1903 | Raymond Queneau | French novelist and poet (1903–1976) |
| 1896 | Suryakant Tripathi | Indian poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer |
| 1888 | Clemence Dane | English novelist and playwright (1888–1965) |
| 1885 | Sacha Guitry | French actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright (1885–1957) |
| 1865 | John Haden Badley | John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (died 1967) |
| 1821 | Charles Scribner I | American publisher (1821–1871) |
| 1817 | José Zorrilla | Spanish poet, writer, playwright (1817–1893) |
Writers who died on February 21
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Eric Brown (pilot) | Royal Navy test pilot, author (1920–2016) |
| 2014 | Cornelius Schnauber | Cornelius Schnauber, German–American historian, playwright, and academic (born 1939) |
| 2011 | Dwayne McDuffie | American comic book and television writer (1962–2011) |
| 2011 | Bernard Nathanson | American physician, activist, and writer (1926–2011) |
| 2005 | Guillermo Cabrera Infante | Cuban writer (1929 – 2005) |
| 1995 | Robert Bolt | English playwright (1924–1995) |
| 1991 | Dorothy Auchterlonie Green | Australian writer and academic (1915–1991) |
| 1986 | Helen Hooven Santmyer | American writer (1895–1986) |
| 1984 | Mikhail Sholokhov | Russian writer (1905–1984) |
| 1980 | Alfred Andersch | German writer, publisher, and radio editor (1914–1980) |
| 1967 | Charles Beaumont | American author (1929–1967) |
| 1862 | Justinus Kerner | German poet and medical writer (1786–1862) |
Literary events on February 21
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1828 | The inaugural issue of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first newspaper in a Native American language, was published. |
Featured
Chuck Palahniuk (1962) — Charles Michael Palahniuk is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressive fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel, Fight Club, was adapted into a film of the same title.
David Foster Wallace (1962) — David Foster Wallace was an American writer and professor who published novels, short stories, and essays. He is best known for his second novel, Infinite Jest (1996). In 2008, David Ulin wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Wallace was "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years".
Jack Coleman (actor) (1958) — John MacDonald Coleman is an American actor known as Steven Carrington on Dynasty (1982–1988), Noah Bennet in Heroes (2006–2010), State Senator Robert Lipton on The Office (2010–2013), and US Senator William Bracken on Castle (2012–2015).
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.