On this day
January 4 in literary history
Literary history for January 4: 13 writers born, 15 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1584 to 2009. Born on this day: Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Chris Cutler.
Writers born on January 4
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Lo Mutac | Lo Mutac, American actor, comedian, musician, and writer |
| 1950 | Khondakar Ashraf Hossain | Bangladeshi writer |
| 1947 | Chris Cutler | English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist (born 1947) |
| 1943 | Doris Kearns Goodwin | American biographer and historian (born 1943) |
| 1943 | Hwang Sok-yong | South Korean novelist (born 1943) |
| 1941 | George P. Cosmatos | Greek-Italian film director and screenwriter (1941–2005) |
| 1940 | Gao Xingjian | Chinese novelist, critic, playwright and Nobel laureate |
| 1938 | Eberhard Wagner | German linguist and author (born 1938) |
| 1931 | Nora Iuga | Romanian poet, writer and translator |
| 1883 | Max Eastman | American writer and political activist (1883–1969) |
| 1878 | A. E. Coppard | English writer |
| 1864 | Clara Emilia Smitt | Swedish doctor and author |
| 1720 | Johann Friedrich Agricola | German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer |
Writers who died on January 4
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Gert Jonke | Austrian poet, playwright and novelist (1946–2009) |
| 2006 | Irving Layton | Romanian-born Canadian poet (1912–2006) |
| 2005 | Humphrey Carpenter | English writer and broadcaster (1946–2005) |
| 2004 | Joan Aiken | English writer (1924–2004) |
| 2004 | John Toland (historian) | American writer (1912–2004) |
| 1986 | Christopher Isherwood | English and American novelist (1904–1986) |
| 1975 | Carlo Levi | Italian painter, writer and activist (1902–1975) |
| 1965 | T. S. Eliot | Poet, essayist and playwright (1888–1965) |
| 1960 | Albert Camus | French philosopher and writer (1913–1960) |
| 1944 | Kaj Munk | Danish playwright and pastor (1898–1944) |
| 1927 | Süleyman Nazif | Turkish Poet and Politician |
| 1920 | Benito Pérez Galdós | Spanish realist novelist (1843–1920) |
| 1900 | Stanisław Mieroszewski | Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the… |
| 1804 | Charlotte Lennox | Scottish writer (c. 1729 – 1804) |
| 1584 | Tobias Stimmer | Swiss painter and illustrator (1539–1584) |
Literary events on January 4
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1936 | Billboard published its first music hit parade. |
| 1844 | The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland. |
Featured
Khondakar Ashraf Hossain (1950) — Khondakar Ashraf Hossain was a leading postmodernist poet, essayist, translator, and editor from Bangladesh. He wrote more than eighteen titles.
Chris Cutler (1947) — Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong.
Doris Kearns Goodwin (1943) — Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of numerous U.S. presidents. Goodwin's book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1995.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.