On this day
July 23 in literary history
Literary history for July 23: 21 writers born, 11 writers who died and 3 literary events from 1886 to 2014. Born on this day: Lauren Groff, Thea Dorn, André Ducharme.
21writers born
11writers died
3literary events
Writers born on July 23
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Lauren Groff | American writer (born 1978) |
| 1970 | Thea Dorn | German author, TV moderator and literary critic |
| 1961 | André Ducharme | Canadian author and comedian (born 1961) |
| 1950 | Ian Thomas (Canadian musician) | Canadian singer, songwriter, actor and author (born 1950) |
| 1947 | Gardner Dozois | American science fiction author and editor (1947–2018) |
| 1946 | Rene Ricard | American poet (1946–2014) |
| 1940 | Danielle Collobert | French author, poet and journalist (1940–1978) |
| 1940 | John Nichols (writer) | American novelist (1940–2023) |
| 1933 | Benedict Groeschel | American Franciscan friar and author |
| 1931 | Guy Fournier | Canadian author and screenwriter (born 1931) |
| 1928 | Hubert Selby Jr. | American writer |
| 1927 | Gérard Brach | French screenwriter and film director (1927–2006) |
| 1926 | Ludvík Vaculík | Czech writer and journalist (1926–2015) |
| 1924 | Gavin Lambert | English and American writer (1924–2005) |
| 1914 | Virgil Finlay | American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator |
| 1907 | Elspeth Huxley | English writer, journalist, magistrate, environmentalist and adviser |
| 1900 | Julia Davis Adams | American writer best known for popular history and historical novels |
| 1900 | Inger Margrethe Boberg | Inger Margrethe Boberg, Danish folklore researcher and writer (died 1957) |
| 1898 | Daniel Cosío Villegas | Mexican economist, diplomat, historian and essayist (1898–1976) |
| 1888 | Raymond Chandler | American novelist and screenwriter (1888–1959) |
| 1886 | Salvador de Madariaga | Spanish diplomat, writer and historian (1886–1978) |
Writers who died on July 23
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ariano Suassuna | Brazilian playwright (1927–2014) |
| 2013 | Pauline Clarke | English children's writer (1921–2013) |
| 2012 | Margaret Mahy | New Zealand children's writer (1936–2012) |
| 2012 | Esther Tusquets | Spanish publisher, novelist and essayist (1936–2012) |
| 2009 | E. Lynn Harris | American novelist |
| 2006 | Jean-Paul Desbiens | Canadian journalist and writer |
| 2002 | Chaim Potok | American author and rabbi (1929–2002) |
| 2001 | Eudora Welty | American writer and photographer (1909–2001) |
| 1989 | Donald Barthelme | American writer and professor (1931 – 1989) |
| 1979 | Joseph Kessel | French writer (1898–1979) |
| 1936 | Anna Abrikosova | Russian Catholic religious sister and translator (1882–1936) |
Literary events on July 23
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Vanessa Williams, the first African-American Miss America, was forced to resign after the magazine Penthouse published nude photos of her without consent. |
| 1942 | Bulgarian poet and communist activist Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad. |
| 1942 | Bulgarian poet and communist activist Nikola Vaptsarov was executed by firing squad. |
Featured
Lauren Groff (1978) — Lauren Groff is an American novelist and short story writer. She has written five novels and three short story collections, including Delicate Edible Birds (2009), Fates and Furies (2015), Matrix (2021), The Vaster Wilds (2023), and Brawler (2026).
Thea Dorn (1970) — Thea Dorn is a German writer of crime fiction and TV host. She lives and works in Berlin.
André Ducharme (1961) — André Ducharme is a Canadian author, comedian, and humorist from Quebec. He was a member of the musical comedy group Rock et Belles Oreilles from 1981 to 1995.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.