On this day
July 21 in literary history
Literary history for July 21: 22 writers born, 11 writers who died and 1 literary events from 710 to 2015. Born on this day: Jalmari Helander, Christopher Barzak, Sarah Waters.
Writers born on July 21
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Jalmari Helander | Finnish screenwriter and film director (born 1976) |
| 1975 | Christopher Barzak | American author |
| 1966 | Sarah Waters | Welsh novelist (born 1966) |
| 1956 | Michael Connelly | American author (born 1956) |
| 1949 | Hirini Melbourne | Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author |
| 1948 | Garry Trudeau | American cartoonist (born 1948) |
| 1946 | Timothy Harris (writer) | American writer and film producer |
| 1945 | Wendy Cope | English poet (born 1945) |
| 1944 | Buchi Emecheta | Nigerian writer (1944–2017) |
| 1939 | Jamey Aebersold | American publisher, music educator, and saxophonist |
| 1933 | John Gardner (American writer) | American novelist, essayist, and literary critic (1933–1982) |
| 1930 | Anand Bakshi | Indian poet and lyricist (1930–2002) |
| 1922 | Philomena Franz | German Romani author (1922–2022) |
| 1921 | James Cooke Brown | American sociologist and novelist (1921–2000) |
| 1920 | Jean Daniel | French journalist and author (1920–2020) |
| 1911 | Umashankar Joshi | Indian poet, scholar and writer (1911–1988) |
| 1899 | Hart Crane | American poet (1899–1932) |
| 1899 | Ernest Hemingway | American author and journalist (1899–1961) |
| 1893 | Hans Fallada | German writer |
| 1885 | Jacques Feyder | Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director |
| 1882 | David Burliuk | Russian artist, poet and publicist (1882–1967) |
| 1664 | Matthew Prior | English diplomat and poet (1664–1721) |
Writers who died on July 21
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | E. L. Doctorow | American novelist and editor (1931–2015) |
| 2014 | Louise Abeita | American poet |
| 2012 | Alexander Cockburn | Scottish-born Irish-American political journalist and writer |
| 2012 | Ali Podrimja | Albanian poet |
| 2002 | Esphyr Slobodkina | American artist, author, and illustrator (1908–2002) |
| 2000 | Marc Reisner | American environmentalist and writer |
| 1994 | Marijac | French comics author (1908–1994) |
| 1941 | Bohdan Lepky | Ukrainian writer |
| 1938 | Owen Wister | American writer (1860–1938) |
| 1796 | Robert Burns | Scottish poet and lyricist (1759–1796) |
| 710 | Shangguan Wan'er | Chinese politician, poet and concubine (664–710) |
Literary events on July 21
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, was released and sold 15 million copies in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling book in history. |
Featured
Jalmari Helander (1976) — Jalmari Helander is a Finnish screenwriter and film director. He is known for the 2010 film Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, the 2014 action-adventure Big Game starring Samuel L. Jackson, and the 2022 WWII action film Sisu.
Christopher Barzak (1975) — Christopher Barzak is an American author. He has published many short stories, beginning with "A Mad Tea Party" in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet in 1999.
Sarah Waters (1966) — Sarah Ann Waters is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as Tipping the Velvet (1998) and Fingersmith (2002). Both novels were adapted into TV mini-series by BBC in 2002 and 2005 respectively.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.