On this day
July 19 in literary history
Literary history for July 19: 30 writers born, 23 writers who died and 3 literary events from 973 to 2015. Born on this day: Jim Norton (comedian), Jean-François Mercier, Garth Nix.
30writers born
23writers died
3literary events
Writers born on July 19
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Jim Norton (comedian) | American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and podcast host (born 1968) |
| 1967 | Jean-François Mercier | Comedian, screenwriter and television host from Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| 1963 | Garth Nix | Australian fantasy writer (born 1963) |
| 1959 | Juan José Campanella | Argentine television and film director, writer and producer |
| 1954 | Mark O'Donnell | American dramatist |
| 1954 | Steve O'Donnell (writer) | Television writer |
| 1954 | Srđa Trifković | Serbian-American writer |
| 1952 | Jayne Anne Phillips | American writer |
| 1947 | André Forcier | Canadian film director and screenwriter |
| 1945 | Edwin Schlossberg | American designer, artist, and author (born 1945) |
| 1938 | Jayant Narlikar | Indian physicist and author (1938–2025) |
| 1938 | Tom Raworth | English-Irish poet |
| 1932 | Jan Lindblad | Swedish naturalist, writer, photographer, filmmaker and whistler (1932–1987) |
| 1928 | Samuel Hazo (writer) | American writer (born 1928) |
| 1924 | Arthur Rankin Jr. | American director, writer and producer (1924–2014) |
| 1923 | Joseph Hansen (writer) | American crime writer and poet (1923–2004) |
| 1921 | Elizabeth Spencer (writer) | American writer (1921–2019) |
| 1919 | Miltos Sachtouris | Greek poet |
| 1919 | Ron Searle | English-born Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician |
| 1913 | Kay Linaker | American actress and screenwriter (1913–2008) |
| 1909 | Balamani Amma | Indian poet (1909–2004) |
| 1902 | Samudrala Sr. | Indian writer (1902–1968) |
| 1899 | Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay | Bengali-language novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, and physician |
| 1896 | A. J. Cronin | Scottish physician and novelist (1896–1981) |
| 1893 | Vladimir Mayakovsky | Russian poet (1893–1930) |
| 1875 | Alice Dunbar Nelson | American journalist, poet and activist (1875–1935) |
| 1849 | Ferdinand Brunetière | French writer and critic (1849–1906) |
| 1819 | Gottfried Keller | Swiss poet and writer |
| 1789 | John Martin (painter) | English painter, engraver and illustrator (1789–1854) |
| 1744 | Heinrich Christian Boie | German writer (1744–1806) |
Writers who died on July 19
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Carmino Ravosa | American composer and lyricist, singer, pianist |
| 2013 | Leyla Erbil | Turkish writer (1931–2013) |
| 2012 | Humayun Ahmed | Bangladeshi author and filmmaker (1948–2012) |
| 2012 | Tom Davis (comedian) | American screenwriter and comedian (1952-2012) |
| 2010 | Cécile Aubry | French actress, television director, writer and screenwriter |
| 2010 | Jon Cleary | Australian writer (1917–2010) |
| 2009 | Frank McCourt | Irish-American writer |
| 2007 | Roberto Fontanarrosa | Argentine cartoonist (1944-2007) |
| 2005 | Edward Bunker | American novelist, screenwriter, and actor |
| 1994 | Victor Barbeau | Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (born 1896) |
| 1985 | Janusz Zajdel | Polish author (1938–1985) |
| 1984 | Aziz Sami | Iraqi writer and translator |
| 1980 | Margaret Craven (writer) | American author (1901-1980) |
| 1977 | Karl Ristikivi | Estonian writer |
| 1969 | Stratis Myrivilis | Geeek writer known for novels, novellas, and short stories |
| 1967 | Odell Shepard | American professor, poet, and politician |
| 1939 | Rose Hartwick Thorpe | American poet (1850–1939) |
| 1855 | Konstantin Batyushkov | Russian poet, essayist and translator (1787–1855) |
| 1850 | Margaret Fuller | American writer and women's activist (1810–1850) |
| 1742 | William Somervile | English poet (1675–1742) |
| 1374 | Petrarch | Italian scholar and poet (1304–1374) |
| 1030 | Adalberon (bishop of Laon) | French bishop and poet (died 1030/1031) |
| 973 | Kyunyŏ | Korean monk and poet (923–973) |
Literary events on July 19
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1983 | The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published. |
| 1957 | The largely autobiographical novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh is published. |
| 1957 | The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, a largely autobiographical novel by Evelyn Waugh, was published. |
Featured
Jim Norton (comedian) (1968) — James Joseph Norton is an American comedian, radio personality, actor, author, and television and podcast host. Norton has been the co-host of the podcast UFC Unfiltered with Matt Serra since 2016, and the host of Jim Norton Can't Save You since January 2025.
Jean-François Mercier (1967) — Jean-François Mercier is a comedian, screenwriter and television host from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mercier's comedy features his scruffy appearance and mixes social criticism with vulgarity, curse words and expressions of anger.
Garth Nix (1963) — Garth Richard Nix is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.