On this day
January 17 in literary history
Literary history for January 17: 29 writers born and 12 writers who died from 1588 to 2025. Born on this day: Lukas Moodysson, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Sebastian Junger.
Writers born on January 17
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Lukas Moodysson | Swedish writer and film director |
| 1968 | Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer | Dutch poet and writer |
| 1962 | Sebastian Junger | American author, journalist and filmmaker (born 1962) |
| 1961 | Brian Helgeland | American screenwriter (born 1961) |
| 1957 | Ann Nocenti | American journalist, comic book writer and editor |
| 1952 | Tom Deitz | American writer (1952–2009) |
| 1950 | Luis López Nieves | Puerto Rican writer |
| 1945 | Javed Akhtar | Indian poet and lyricist (born 1945) |
| 1944 | Ann Oakley | British sociologist, feminist, and writer |
| 1938 | John Bellairs | American fantasy novelist (1938–1991) |
| 1925 | Robert Cormier | American writer and journalist (1925–2000) |
| 1923 | Rangeya Raghav | Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (died 1962) |
| 1921 | Antonio Prohías | Cuban cartoonist |
| 1914 | William Stafford (poet) | American poet |
| 1907 | Alfred Wainwright | English walker and writer (1907–1991) |
| 1905 | Jan Zahradníček | Moravian (Czech) poet, journalist and translator |
| 1904 | Hem Vejakorn | Thai artist and writer (1904–1969) |
| 1899 | Nevil Shute | English novelist (1899–1960) |
| 1888 | Babu Gulabrai | Indian writer (1888–1963) |
| 1883 | Compton Mackenzie | Scottish writer (1883–1972) |
| 1877 | May Gibbs | Australian artist, writer (1877–1969) |
| 1875 | Florencio Sánchez | Uruguayan playwright, journalist and political figure (1875–1910) |
| 1871 | Nicolae Iorga | Romanian scholar, writer and politician (1871–1940) |
| 1858 | Tomás Carrasquilla | Colombian writer (1858–1940) |
| 1851 | A. B. Frost | American illustrator, graphic artist, painter and comics writer |
| 1820 | Anne Brontë | English novelist and poet (1820–1849) |
| 1814 | Ellen Wood (author) | English novelist (1814–1887) |
| 1719 | Johann Elias Schlegel | German poet and critic (1719–1749) |
| 1600 | Pedro Calderón de la Barca | Spanish playwright and poet (1600–1681) |
Writers who died on January 17
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Jules Feiffer | American cartoonist and author (1929–2025) |
| 2014 | Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green | British businessman, politician and author (1942–2014) |
| 2013 | Jakob Arjouni | German author (1964–2013) |
| 2011 | Don Kirshner | American songwriter, publisher, music producer, manager (1934–2011) |
| 2010 | Erich Segal | American author (1937–2010) |
| 2009 | Anders Isaksson | Swedish journalist, writer, and historian |
| 2002 | Camilo José Cela | Spanish novelist, poet, essayist (1916–2002) |
| 1988 | Percy Qoboza | Percy Qoboza, South African journalist and author (born 1938) |
| 1972 | Betty Smith | American playwright and novelist (1896–1972) |
| 1951 | Jyoti Prasad Agarwala | India writer and filmmaker (1903–1951) |
| 1936 | Mateiu Caragiale | Romanian poet and prose writer (1885–1936) |
| 1588 | Qi Jiguang | Chinese general and writer (1528–1588) |
Featured
Lukas Moodysson (1969) — Karl Fredrik Lukas Moodysson is a Swedish filmmaker, novelist, and short story writer. First coming to prominence as an ambitious poet in the 1980s, he had his big domestic and international breakthrough directing the 1998 romantic film Show Me Love.
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (1968) — Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer is a Dutch poet, novelist, polemicist and classical scholar. He was born in Rijswijk, Netherlands, and studied, lived and worked in Leiden, and he moved permanently to Genoa, Italy, in 2008.
Sebastian Junger (1962) — Sebastian Junger is an American journalist, author and filmmaker.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.