On this day
January 1 in literary history
Literary history for January 1: 22 writers born, 14 writers who died and 4 literary events from 1560 to 2025. Born on this day: Gia Coppola, Dennis O'Driscoll, Teresa Torańska.
Writers born on January 1
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Gia Coppola | American film director and screenwriter |
| 1954 | Dennis O'Driscoll | Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor (1954–2012) |
| 1944 | Teresa Torańska | Polish journalist and writer |
| 1944 | Mati Unt | Estonian writer and theatre director (1944–2005) |
| 1933 | Joe Orton | English playwright and author (1933–1967) |
| 1928 | Ernest Tidyman | American writer (1928–1984) |
| 1920 | Osvaldo Cavandoli | Italian cartoonist (1920–2007) |
| 1919 | J. D. Salinger | American writer (1919–2010) |
| 1912 | Nikiforos Vrettakos | Greek poet |
| 1911 | Audrey Wurdemann | American writer |
| 1909 | Peggy Dennis | American-Russian journalist, author, and Communist activist |
| 1889 | Seabury Quinn | American lawyer, journalist, and author |
| 1888 | Chesley Bonestell | American science fiction and space illustrator (1888–1986) |
| 1879 | E. M. Forster | English novelist and writer (1879–1970) |
| 1839 | Ouida | English novelist (1839–1908) |
| 1834 | Ludovic Halévy | French writer (1834–1908) |
| 1823 | Sándor Petőfi | Hungarian poet and liberal revolutionary |
| 1819 | Arthur Hugh Clough | English poet (1819–1861) |
| 1768 | Maria Edgeworth | Anglo-Irish novelist (1768–1849) |
| 1714 | Giovanni Battista Mancini | Italian soprano castrato and author |
| 1714 | Kristijonas Donelaitis | Prussian Lithuanian poet and Lutheran pastor (1714–1780) |
| 1704 | Soame Jenyns | English writer (1704–1787) |
Writers who died on January 1
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | David Lodge (author) | English writer (1935–2025) |
| 2020 | Alexander Frater | British-Australian journalist and travel writer (1937–2020) |
| 2016 | Fazu Aliyeva | Russian poet (born 1932) |
| 2007 | Tillie Olsen | American writer (1912–2007) |
| 1981 | Hephzibah Menuhin | American-Australian pianist and writer |
| 1969 | Barton MacLane | Actor, playwright, screenwriter (1902–1969) |
| 1954 | Leonard Bacon (poet) | American poet |
| 1943 | Jenő Rejtő | Hungarian writer (1905–1943) |
| 1940 | Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao | Indian writer |
| 1918 | William Wilfred Campbell | Canadian poet (1850–1918) |
| 1896 | Alfred Ely Beach | American inventor, publisher, and patent lawyer (1826–1896) |
| 1716 | William Wycherley | English playwright (1641–1716) |
| 1697 | Filippo Baldinucci | Italian art historian and biographer (1625–1696) |
| 1560 | Joachim du Bellay | French poet and critic (died 1560) |
Literary events on January 1
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Disney's copyright protection on Steamboat Willie and the original Mickey Mouse expires as they enter the public domain. |
| 1998 | Argentinian physicist Juan Maldacena published a landmark paper initiating the study of AdS/CFT correspondence, which links string theory and quantum gravity. |
| 1788 | The first edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published. |
| 1785 | The Times began publication in London as The Daily Universal Register. |
Featured
Gia Coppola (1987) — Gian-Carla Coppola, known professionally as Gia Coppola, is an American film director and screenwriter. A member of the Coppola family, she is the granddaughter of director Francis Ford Coppola.
Dennis O'Driscoll (1954) — Dennis O'Driscoll was an Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor. Regarded as one of the best European poets of his time, Eileen Battersby considered him "the lyric equivalent of William Trevor" and a better poet "by far" than Raymond Carver.
Teresa Torańska (1944) — Teresa Sławomira Torańska was a Polish journalist and writer. She was perhaps best known for her award winning monograph, Oni.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.